You'll Come Back
by If Dreams Were Wishes
Summary: Situations in Emily's life are causing her to have dreams of a family she can't remember. Which past is real? The one she is told, or the one she dreams of? And why does her dream family keep calling her Sophia? Sequal to "Sky Prince". Some A/P
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone, and welcome to the sequal to "Sky Prince". As I mentioned in the end of my last fic, the sequal will introduce you to Aerrow's lost siblings through a series of flashbacks, as well as tie up some loose ends from the last fic (I hope).**

**Unlike my previous fic, I'm posting this one as I write, so the updates won't be as fast, but I'm aiming to have this completed by the end of July (but don't quote me on that)! I should warn you right now that this fic will probably not be updated for the next week and a half at least, because I'll be on a trip and won't have much internet access. _But_, I will be bringing my laptop along, so I should have some chapters ready for you guys when I return!**

**As I also mentioned before, this fic will work a lot like an extremely long songfic. Each chapter will begin and end with a quote from the song "The Call" by Regina Spektor (kinda like foreshadowing at the beginning, and conclusive at the end). However, if I feel there is no quote that goes with a chapter, there won't be one.**

**Lastly, I'd like to dedicate this chapter to Bkipper, who has taken a great interest in Aerrow's siblings, and who's interest has really driven me to get this chapter up. I hope this will satisfy you for now Bkipper!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Storm Hawks or the song "The Call", sung by Regina Spektor, and featured in the movie "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian."**

Chapter 1

"_You'll come back when it's over,_

_No need to say goodbye."_

"Don't cry mom, we'll be back before you know it!" Brandon assured.

"Yeah, you won't even have time to miss scolding us!" Adrian piped in, a large grin spreading across his face.

Sophia looked up from her seat on the stony floor of the palace courtyard. She sat leaning against the cool garden wall, strangling her teddy bear in an frightened embrace. An early morning breeze pulled at her straight black hair, sending her delicate locks into her eyes. After many unsuccessful attempts to brush her flyaway hair aside, Sophia gave up, turning instead to squint her eyes against the blazing sun to regard her surroundings.

Glancing towards where she'd heard her twin brothers, Sophia say her sobbing mother embracing the two boys - to their slight embarrassment. At the age of twelve, they saw themselves as grown-up now, and in no need for their mother's loving gestures. Nine year-old Michael was not far away from the threesome. He was patiently waiting for their mother to turn to him, though trying not to show how desperately he needed a hug, in an attempt to maintain his boyish pride.

Continuing her scan of the courtyard, Sophia saw her two older sisters Crystal and Harriot. Fifteen year-old Harriot was bawling like a newborn, her older sister gently stroking her head in comfort. At sixteen, Crystal had always been the stronger, less emotional of the two, but today - even though she stood tall - the sparkle of tears was obvious in her deep blue eyes. The eldest girl held a bundle of cloth tightly to her, with the hand she wasn't using to comfort her sister. This was little Aerrow, barely three months old and fast asleep. The baby had not an inkling of what was happening around him. Though she'd tried her hardest not to show it, Sophia was a bit jealous of Aerrow. Her baby brother had taken much of her highly enjoyed attention from her. She now found herself jealous of the babe for another reason; he was oblivious to all these sad and frightening things around him.

Sophia turned as she felt a hand slide into her own. Six year-old Charles sat beside her. Both children had taken refuge by the garden wall. A look into her brother's blue eyes told Sophia that he was just scarred and confused as she was. Being so young, neither could totally understand or comprehend what was happening. They just knew that they were taking a trip without mommy and daddy, and that everyone seemed very sad about this.

Sophia moved closer to Charles - who she saw as her best friend - and the two sat watching the happenings of the courtyard together.

Looking over to a shadowed corner, Sophia spotted her father and her eldest brother, Jacob, who was eighteen. Both stood rigid, cold expressions on their faces. Sophia knew they must have been arguing again. She pointed towards the pair so Charles would notice them too. The angry atmosphere was different from the somber one that had encircled the children all day, and they watched the shaded pair in an odd interest.

"Please Jacob, just rethink all this! Your best friend just betrayed you! Nothing is the same now; nothing is safe!" their father begged, "Please, hide like the rest..."

"Just because you're scared, doesn't mean _**I **_have to be!" Jacob responded angrily, "I have a duty to my squadron, as well as a duty to Atmos; one I took as my own burden, the day I took my oath as a Sky Knight! I _**refuse **_to take the easy way out; to just hide and let the world fall apart around me!"

"If you will not obey your father, then obey your king!" their father's raised voice rang throughout the courtyard, so that everyone present now stopped to watch the battle of words.

" King? What _**king**_?" Jacob spat, "A king wouldn't abandon his people in their time of need! A king is brave and honourable! I see no king here, father, only a cowardly man who has lost all faith in his nation, his people, his children, and even himself."

Silence rang throughout the courtyard, more deafening and frightening then anything that could be spoken. Sophia tore her eyes away from her brother's enraged face and her father's downcast one, and hide her tear-brimming eyes in Charles' shoulder. The boy did his best to comfort his sister, gently rubbing her back, and squeezing her hand even tighter.

"You will go with the others," their father's voice was level and definite, "And that is final."

"It's time to go." the voice of the airship's captain broke the silence that had once again enveloped the royal family, after the king's last remark.

Charles stood, bringing Sophia with him. Flinging his heavy bag onto his back, he took the handle of Sophia's and began to drag it, and her, towards the waiting airship.

"Here sport, let me help you." both children looked up at their eldest brother. He wore a pleasant smile that seemed to laugh playfully at them, but Sophia could see much turmoil behind the happy sparkle in her brother's eyes.

"No one has forgotten anything, have they?" their mother asked, trying to put a brave face on and hide her tears.

Father and mother went to each child, saying goodbye for the last time before they headed out. First was Crystal and Harriot with baby Aerrow. Their mother gave each as kiss on the cheek, and their father hugged all three in one big embrace. Adrian and Brandon backed away from their mother's attempted kiss, and seeing the twins do so, Michael reluctantly did the same.

"You're all big boys now, right?" their father asked with a laugh, ruffling the boys' hair as he passed.

Next was Sophia and Charles, who still held each other's hand. Their mother bent down and wrapped her arms around the pair, giving each a kiss. Their father lifted them both up in his strong arms, spinning them around until they let out screams of glee.

Jacob let his mother kiss him on the cheek, and his father shake his hand, but he was stiff to both of their touches.

"Please Jacob, don't make this any more difficult for us." their mother whispered, but the young man only turned away, not willing to meet his mother's watery gaze.

"We have to get going," the captain said, walking forward, "Every minute we wait, the larger the risk of Cyclonian interception."

Their father and mother nodded in understanding.

"We'll be back soon, don't worry!" Michael assured, tyring to put on a brave face.

"This war will not last forever." Crystal added.

"It might be nice for you two to be alone for awhile." Harriot said with a laugh.

"Yeah, maybe I'll find some girls to play with!" Sophia pipped in, knowing her mother was always saying she played with her brothers too much.

"But Sophia, isn't that what you got Charles for?" Adrian joked.

Charles responded by sticking his tongue out at the older boy, to the amusement of his family.

Laughing, the siblings made their way towards the airship, following its captain. Charles led Sophia by the hand, the girl still clutched her teddy tightly in the other. As they made their way up the gangplank, Sophia glanced back.

Her mother and father stood holding each other, tears in their eyes. Sophia waved at her parents, her teddy flapping in the morning air.

"See you soon!" she shouted with a smile.

"_You'll come back when it's over,_

_No need to say goodbye."_

_

* * *

_

**Who would have thought that dramatic irony could be so sad?**

**Anyway, I'd like to take this moment to apologise to SakariWolfe. I didn't see your review until today, and I've been working on this chapter, so I put it up first. I must say, you've picked a hard fic for me! I've kinda put it on the backburner... but I'll dig it out and do my best to complete it, just for you!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey everyone, I'm back! Unfortunetly, my internet access was a no-go on my trip, but I did use my spare time to write three more chapters for you that I should have up in the next few days!**

**Please note that the page breaks (lines) represent the beginning and end of flashbacks.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Storm Hawks or any characters, plots or ideas associated with it. Nor do I own the song "The Call", which is quoted below. However, I do own my OCs and my plot!**

Chapter 2

"_Now we're back to the beginning_

_It's just a feeling and no one knows yet."_

Emily opened her eyes to stare at the plain white ceiling. For a moment, she was disoriented. To suddenly find oneself in bed - when dreaming of being outside in the cool morning air mere moments before - does tend to cause a person to not know where they are. This was the sensation that momentarily caught Emily, as she struggled to put jumbled thoughts together in her mind, though her sleepy brain didn't quite feel like working.

Emily had been only four years old when she'd woken to the same sensation.

* * *

The sun shone brightly, penetrating the young girl's closed eyelids and screaming at her to open her tired eyes. She rolled over in protest, but ended up moving onto something hard and sharp. Jumping, the little girl removed herself from the pointy object. Opening her eyes, she discovered that this object was a large rock.

Gazing around her, the child saw only the large trunks of trees and the leafy branches of bushes. Setting her eyes upward, she saw a canopy of leaves overhead, with the odd opening for the annoying light of the sun to invade this very comfortable napping place. Standing, she discovered that she was in fact in a large hole, that had steep sides made of very loose, brown dirt.

The girl stopped to think how she'd gotten in this predicament, but no such memory came to her. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't remember how she'd come to be in this hole. She couldn't even come up with the answer of where she lived, or even what her name was.

After thinking so hard that her head hurt even more - for it had been throbbing painfully from the moment she had woken - the girl decided to try to get out of the hole. She noticed that there were many roots alone the wall of earth, and that she could use these to climb out.

It was as she was reaching up to grab the first root that she noticed the teddy bear clutched tightly in her hand, dangling by an arm. The stuffed animal was worse for wear. Its fur had so much dirt and grime in it, that it was a gloomy grey. It was missing an eye, as well as part of an ear. Around its neck was a rusting chain, which held a simple gold ring. The little girl was puzzled by the teddy, but quickly snuggled it in a hug, and was pleased to discover that the feeling of the bear against her chest was familiar.

It took her three attempts to get out of the hole. Then - now as dirty and tattered as her teddy - the little girl wandered the forest. She walked for what felt like hours. It became very hot and humid, the muggy air making the girls short black hair dampen, and her shirt and trousers stick uncomfortably to her skin.

Suddenly, the foliage opened up, and the young girl found herself looking upon the charred remains of a small town. It was the brunt smell that began to jog the child's memories.

_There were flames everywhere. People ran in every direction, screaming and crying. She was standing in the middle of the road, lost and helpless._

_Scary men were walking towards her. Through the thick, black smoke, she could make out glowing weapons in their hands and sneers on their faces._

"_Get out of the way, boy." the leader of the devil men ordered angrily, his red eyes glowing in the light of the flaming buildings that surrounded them._

_She did as she was told. She ran as fast as she could towards the woods. _

_Being called a boy didn't faze her. With her short hair, and preference to trousers to skirts, she was often mistaken for a boy._

_She didn't stop her flat-out_ _sprint. She just kept running blindly through the trees. She never saw the large hole coming. She fell right in, hitting her head with a resounding crack on the way down. Everything went black then._

* * *

After entering the town, Emily had soon been found by fellow survivors. She'd learned that the terra had been invaded by Cyclonia - an evil terra set on controlling the whole world in which she lived, Atmos - but a group of Sky Knights - the heros of Atmos who protected the free terras from Cyclonian rule - had come just in time to free the terra. She was told that even though all the dwellings in the town had been destroyed, there were only three fatalities.

They were her family.

She was then told her name was Emily, and that she'd been adopted by her foster-family only a year before. Her new family had consisted of her mother, father and sister, Patience, who was just a year older then she. It had been a great amusement to many of the townspeople that the girls - though not having any known relation - could be mistaken as twins. The only differences between the two had been that Patience had greyish-blue eyes, while Emily had green, and that Patience dressed like a girl, while her stepsister preferred boyish attire.

The invaders had supposedly made a beeline for her family's home, and slaughtered all three in the dwelling. Emily had not been home, but out playing _Sky Knights and Cyclonians_ with some boys her age.

It had been fourteen years since the Cyclonian invasion. Emily now lived with an elderly couple, Josh and Judy, who had taken her in without hesitation. Many families hadn't wanted anything to do with the little girl, thinking she must be cursed. Emily was aware that it was still whispered that the Cyclonians had come specifically to kill her family, and were biding their time; waiting for the day they could return to finish the job. Josh and Judy believed this was all nonsense. Josh always said that Emily was lucky - if anything - since she was the only member of her family to survive.

Josh and Judy owned a small aircraft repair shop; the last building on the town's main business street. The shop was on the main level, while the family lived in the rooms on the second floor. Growing up, Emily had spent every spare moment in the workshop with Josh, learning and helping where she could. Now that she was eighteen and out of school, Emily worked in the shop full time. Josh usually left the main shop to Emily or Judy, preferring to spend his time in the workshop. Emily would scoot out to help the aging man whenever she could.

Emily loved to tinker with the various airships that came through the shop. She had formed a great passion for machines over the past years. Gazing around her room, she looked at the various posters and pictures that hung on the walls. All were of different airship models and designs. A large blueprint was also tacked to the wall. It was Emily's own; the plan for her very own skimmer, which she was building out of every spare part and scarp she had found over the past few years. Though her skimmer was near completion, Emily had no impending hope of flying it, for crystals were very expensive, and she didn't have the money to buy the amount needed to power her skimmer.

"Emily! You'd better hurry dear, or you'll be late!" Judy's cheerful voice rang from the kitchen, just down the hall.

Jumping out of bed, Emily rushed to dress into her usual baggy jeans and T-shirt. Running to her dresser, she brushed her shoulder length black hair into a ponytail. The usual unruly strands of hair had already begun to escape the elastic before the young woman sat down at the tiny kitchen table.

"Oh, Emily," Judy sighed, smiling fondly at the young woman as she placed a bowl of steaming porridge on the table in front of her, "Will you ever start dressing like a lady?"

* * *

"Will you ever start dressing like a lady?" Harriot asked, sighing dramatically.

"Now Harriot, be nice." Crystal said, trying to hold in a fit of giggles.

The three year old in question stood before her sisters, holding up a pair of trousers that were at least two sizes too big for her.

"Bud I don' like skirts!" Sophia objected, "They gets all caught ups in stuff when I'm playin'!"

"See! _**That's**_ your problem!" Harriot advised, "You need to start _**acting**_ like a lady as well!"

"Bud I don' wants 'ta!" Sophia grumbled, folding her arms across her chest and pouting her lips in defiance.

Unfortunately, the little girl had forgotten that her hands were holding up her extremely large pants. The garment fell to the floor, exposing Sophia's frilly pink underwear.

Sophia let out a little shriek, hurrying to pull up her trousers. The girl's face grew red with embarrassment. However, it wasn't that her sisters had seen her underwear that reddened her cheeks, but the fact that the pair had seen the girly underwear their mother forced Sophia to wear.

Harriot was bent over in laughter, but Crystal did her best to hide her amusement, covering her mouth with a delicate hand. When she'd regained her composure, Crystal stooped down so that she was face-to-face with her little sister and smiled warmly.

"So, where did you get them?" Crystal asked, referring to the trousers.

Sophia had never been one for lady-like activities. No one really blamed her, for all her closest siblings - who were also her playmates - were boys. However, their mother had recently decided that she would try to change her tomboy daughter into a 'normal' young lady. So, all of Sophia's trousers were put away, and she was now forced to wear skirts and frilly shirts - much to the little girls dismay.

Sophia had been doing her best to defy her mother's wishes. Not two days into her 'make over', the little girl had found where her trousers were hidden and brought them all back to her room. It had now been a week since Sophia's trousers had been taken away for the second time.

"Charles gave 'em to me." Sophia smiled as she answered her older sister, "He said day was too small fer him now, and dat I could keep dem ferever!"

"Did he now?" Harriot asked with raised eyebrows.

"Don't be mean, Harriot!" Crystal scolded, then turned back to Sophia with a sigh, "Does mom know you have them yet?"

"Nope!" Sophia replied.

"Well..." Crystal thought for a moment, "If you _**must**_ wear them, you should at _**least**_ let me bring them in a bit so they won't be falling down on you every-other minute."

"Tank-you!" Sophia grabbed her sister's neck in a hug, beaming.

Sophia gave another shriek as Harriot scooped her up and began to tickle the little girl's stomach.

"I guess I'll help too," Harriot said, stopping her assault on the younger girl, "But you can't tell mom! Promise?"

"Promise!" Sophia replied.

"Would _**you**_ like to help too, Sophia?" Crystal asked.

Both older girls laughed as the younger shook her head vigorously in reply. They were well aware that their mother had been trying to get Sophia to do 'lady-like activities' as well. Sewing was one of them.

* * *

"Emily?"

Emily was pulled out of her daze at the sound of Judy's voice.

"What?" she asked.

"Dear, you've been off in some dreamland! You're supposed to be down in the shop, and you haven't touched your breakfast." Judy explained.

"Oh, sorry!" Emily said, then quickly put down a few spoonfuls of porridge before heading downstairs.

"I'll be down once I've finished the dishes!" Judy called after her.

Emily didn't answer. She was too wrapped up in her own confused thoughts.

She'd had dreams of these people before, but until the previous night, they'd just been a bunch of nameless people. Now, she suddenly knew their names and relation to her.

Emily was quite aware that her knock to the head the day of the Cyclonian invasion had ride her of all her memories. Different jolts of images had been slowly returning to her as the years progressed, but never had there been such clarity as these last two.

What was most troubling to Emily was the fact that not one memory of her adoptive family had returned. All she knew about them was what the townspeople had told her. Yet, she was having all these dreams about these people her mind told her were her family.

Were these dreams actual memories, or just simply dreams? What past was her true past? Was it the one she dreamed of? Was it the one she was told of? Was it both? Neither?

And why did those people keep calling her Sophia?

"_Now we're back to the beginning_

_It's just a feeling and no one knows yet."_

* * *

**Well, that's chapter 2! I know that I'm focusing on my OCs, but don't worry, you'll only have to suffer one more chapter before the Storm Hawks make their apperance!**

**I hope you liked my fic thus far, and if you have the time, I'd love to get some feedback (but don't feel pressured or anything).**


	3. Chapter 3

**Don't worry guys, the next chapter is 100 percent Storm Hawks characters with no OCs, so hang in there!**

**Note: the page divides represent the beginning and end of flashbacks**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, except for what I own ;)**

* * *

Chapter 3

"_Let your memories grow stronger and stronger_

_Til they're before your eyes."_

"I'm sorry I kept you waiting." Emily said to Mr. Jamson as she handed the man the package of bolts and screws he'd just bought.

"Oh, its no trouble Emily." Mr. Jamson replied with a smile, "I was only waiting a few minutes, nothing drastic."

"Well, I'll still try to put your skimmer up on the repairs list, to make up for it." Emily said.

"There's no need." Mr. Jamson answered, then leaned in a bit, "But it would be appreciated."

Emily laughed as the cheerful man left the store, giving her a wink on the way out.

"Harassing the costumers again, I see." came Josh's sarcastic voice.

Emily turned to smile at the old man. He was leaning against the frame of the back door, that lead to the workshop.

"No more then you do." Emily replied.

Josh chuckled, crossing his lanky limbs casually. He was a lean man, and was never one for acting his age. Josh always wore a large grin, and was ready to make a sarcastic comment at any moment.

"You two lazing around _**again**_?" Judy's voice was laced with as much sarcasm as her husband's.

Judy walked briskly down the stairs. She was of normal build, and her white hair was pulled back into its usual tight bun. Judy was a cheerful woman, though she did like to get things done. She often joked that she was the only one in the household who did any work.

"Not my fault!" Josh held up his hands defensively, "Blame Emily! It was all her fault!"

"I have a feeling you both are the culprits this time." Judy commented.

"No, really!" Josh defended, but his grin destroyed any seriousness he might have portrayed, "I was just walking in to find a flashlight, minding my own business. Then I saw Emily goofing off again, and was telling her off just as you came down!"

"_**Sure**_," Judy crossed her arms in mock annoyance, "A likely story."

Emily was laughing by now. Reaching under the front counter, she grabbed a flashlight and made her way over to the 'arguing' couple.

"Come on Josh," Emily smiled at the huffing man, "Lets get to work on Mr. Jamson's skimmer."

"Yes, the both of you scoot out to the workshop." Judy agreed, winking at Emily "You're both of much better use out there."

"Fine!" Josh said, throwing his hands up in mock dramatics, "But the next time you want me working the front desk, you remember those words!"

Judy only shock her head, chuckling lightly, as her husband and Emily went through the back door.

"Very smooth." Emily joked, wrapping an arm around the old man's shoulders.

"Why, thank you." Josh smiled back.

Emily switched on the light as they passed. The old light flickered and buzzed overhead, but neither Josh nor Emily minded, for it was just a familiar regularity to them.

"So, why do you want to do Mr. Jamson's this morning?" Josh asked, not missing a trick.

"Oh, I wanted to make up for making him wait on me." Emily explained.

"Well, you know it's our policy not to bump _**anyone**_ ahead." Josh reminded, "If you want to get his done faster, we'll just have to step on it today."

Emily sighed, "But the repair list is chocked full! We'll be here all night before we get to Mr. Jamson's."

"Not if we work separately." Josh said encouragingly.

"Okay." Emily replied, "So, who's next on the list?"

"Well, I'm working on the bakery's carrier engine." Josh said, then smiled mischievously, pointing to the far corner "You get to fix old man Philip's skimmer."

Emily followed Josh's finger to an extremely old skimmer - if it could be called that. Its metal plating was completely rusted, and one of its wings had fallen off onto the floor. The seat was all torn and wires were sticking out in all directions.

"No way!" Emily protested, "Last time I touched that thing, it blew up in my face and burned off my eyebrows!"

"What's this!?" Josh teased, "Emily's _**scarred**_?"

* * *

"What's this!?" Adrien teased, "Sophia's _**scarred**_?"

Brandon snickered, while Michael laughed nervously.

The four stood just outside the palace's kitchens. The aroma of freshly baked cookies drifted out from the partly opened door.

"If you don't want to do it, I'm sure Michael will. _**He's**_ not scarred. Are you Michael?" said boy cringed at Brandon's words.

"Don' be silly! Corse I'll do it." Sophia's pride wouldn't let her back out, she had to prove to her brothers that she was just as worthy to play with them as any boy.

"Good." Adrien smiled, "Now, all you have to do is sneak into the kitchen and get some of those cookies for us."

"Why can't you or Brandon do it?" came the questioning voice of Charles.

"You can't say anything, mister 'stealing is wrong'." Adrien badgered, "Besides, we're too big! The cooks would see us right away!"

Charles just folded his arms and grumbled to himself from his seat on the floor a little ways down the hall.

"Dat's not very nice!" Sophia folded her arms as well, "Don' say mean tings to Charles or I wonts do stuff fer you no more!"

"Fine, fine!" Brandon said, then gave his little sister a shove towards the door, "Just go get the cookies!"

Sophia peeked around the door. Her short stature only aloud her to see the hurrying legs of cooks and cleaners as they rushed this way and that. Standing on tiptoe, Sophia could just make out a large platter of chocolate chip cookies, that lay cooling on the counter not far from the door.

Sophia glanced back at her brothers for reassurance. Adrien and Brandon gave her thumbs up, the same quirky smile on their faces. Michael waved his hand, encouraging Sophia to go on, hoping this would not turn into _**him**_ having to prove his worth.

Sophia caught Charles' eye, but the boy quickly turned away, anger on his features. This caused a lump to form in the pit of Sophia's stomach, a little bit of guilt sinking in. However, this was not enough to stop the brazen little girl.

Taking a deep breath, Sophia slipped into the kitchens. She crouched behind the garbage can just inside the door, poking her head around the side to scope out her situation. The cookie platter lay just above her on the counter. Looking around the room, Sophia didn't see anyone nearby, so she reached up a tiny hand to grab at the treats.

Sophia turned her head back to smile triumphantly at her three brothers, who stood peeking through the door. All were waving their hands and shouting silent _NO_'s at her. Adrien slammed a hand to his forehead, as Sophia heard someone clear their throat loudly.

Looking up, Sophia saw the chubby head chef standing over her. His face was scrunched in accusation, yet his eyes sparkled in amusement.

"And what might _**you**_ be up to?" the head chef asked.

"N-nothing." Sophia stuttered, gazing up a the large man in horror.

"Well, be on your way then." the head chef waved a shooing hand.

Sophia nodded, with saucepan eyes, then scurried back out the door.

"Oh, _**good job**_!" Brandon remarked sarcastically.

"Is it possible for you to do _**anything**_ right?" Adrien added, then elbowed Michael, encouraging a comment.

"Yeah," Michael said half-heartedly, "I'll just do it myself next time and not bother to even ask you."

Sophia's green eyes began to water, though she tried her best to hold back her tears. She didn't want to show weakness in front of these mean older boys.

"Stop it!" Charles said angrily as he came to stand by his sister, placing a hand on her shoulder, "You guys are just _**mean**_! She did what you wouldn't yourselves, and you're still making fun of her!"

"_**You**_ wouldn't do it either!" Brandon retorted.

"Because I know a much easier way." Charles said matter-of-factly.

"Oh _**yeah**_?" Adrien folded his arms, "Then _**show**_ us!"

"Fine!" Charles responded.

Grabbing the hand of his watery-eyed sister, Charles marched up to the kitchen door, as Adrien, Brandon and Michael ran to hide behind a statue.

Lifting a small fist, Charles gave the door three confident knocks. After a moment, the door was answered by the head chef.

"Hello." Charles said politely, "Could we have a cookie please?"

"Well, of course lad, since you asked so nicely." the head chef smiled as he handed Charles a large cookie.

"Thank you!" Charles smiled in return, then tore the cookie in half, giving one piece to Sophia.

Taking Sophia's hand again, Charles led her down the hall and past their steaming brothers.

"Come on Sophia." Charles said as he glared at the older boys, "Lets go eat our cookie somewhere were it won't get _**spoiled**_."

* * *

"Emily?" Josh's sing-song voice rang in her ears.

"Oh, sorry." Emily said, shaking her head, "I guess I kinda zoned out there for a bit."

"Yeah, just for a _**bit**_." Josh laughed, then raised an eyebrow suggestively, "Thinking about a boy, were we?"

"Oh, don't start!" Emily threw an oily rag at the old man.

"What, I thought that Thomas guy who came around the other week was _**cute**_!" Josh's words were spewing sarcasm.

"Oh, _**please**_!" Emily replied, thinking back with disgust at the snobby young man who had always thought himself above her, "I wouldn't take a second look at him even if he was the last man in Atmos!"

"Good to know!" Josh chuckled as he returned to fixing the engine that lay on a work bench.

Looking over at old man Philip's reck of a skimmer, Emily gulped.

"Why can't that silly old man just get a new skimmer?" she grumbled, "Goodness knows he has enough money!"

"_Let your memories grow stronger and stronger_

_Til they're before your eyes."_

* * *

**Well, that's chapter 3! I'd like to say sorry to SakariWolfe, I'm having a writers block with "Like the Sun", but I'm trying my best!**

**I'm really happy that you guys think the emotions in my fic is real. I'm always striving to be real and not seem fake. I'm kinda worried about how I wrote the twins in this chapter. It took me a long time to decide if I was going to give them similar personalities, or different ones. You see, I'm a twin, and my sister and I are almost complete opposites, but I love her! I decided to make the twins the same in the end, mostly because I know I have a lot of characters in this fic, and making them the same makes it all easier to follow. **

**Also,I know it might be hard to believe, but kids like Charles (kind, smart, and with overally large vocabularies) do exist. I should know, because I've based him on my cousin when he was the age I've made Charles (6). You might be interested to know that I based Harriot after one of my younger sisters (who is a kind of drama queen, but really funny too), Crystal is based on my twin (more serious and kind), and Michael is based on my other younger sister (she's always worried about what others think of her, so she finds it hard to be herself... you'll see more of these traits in Micheal in the coming chapters). I just made up the personalities of the rest of the characters. I do like to base characters off people I know (based, because I never use all a persons traits, I'm not into carbon copies), because I believe it makes them more real.**

**Well, I've been rambling! If your still reading... you must be bored! lol**


	4. Chapter 4

**Yes! The Storm Hawks return to my fanfics! I went for a humor in this chapter, and I hope you like it!**

**Note: the page split represents a change in time in this chapter (it turns to a later time).**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Storm Hawks or anything associated with it. If there _was_ a quote from "The Call" below, I wouldn't own it either.**

* * *

Chapter 4

This was their toughest mission yet. The task was so daunting, so _**horrible**_, they weren't sure if they'd all survive. Today, the Storm Hawks had to tackle the fearful job of...

SPRING CLEANING!

"Now troops, if we follow my carefully thought-out plan, we can be finished in half the time." Piper explained as she paced back and forth in front of her squadron mates, holding a duster in her hand like a baton.

The boys stood in a line before her; each wearing an apron and holding various cleaning equipment in their hands. Aerrow stood straight, in mock attention. Finn and Radarr had their shoulders slumped, dull looks on their faces. Junko's face was wrinkled with frightful anticipation, worried sick about what would become of his junk collection in the next few hours. Stork's face was set. The merb stood ready for instruction, and had come overly prepared, in what he called 'full-body armour.' He wore a large brimmed hat, massive goggles that enlarged his eyes, a mask attached to an oxygen tank on his back, a germ-repellent suit, - which looked suspiciously like a puffy snowsuit - surgical gloves and steel-toed army boots.

"Okay! Listen up!" Piper said with authority, pulling down a complex map and chart, pointing to it with her duster, "Here's the plan. First, we have to—"

"Why did you put her in charge?" Finn whined to Aerrow in a whisper, as Piper continued her extensive explanation.

Aerrow just shrugged. Looking down the line, he saw Radarr holding his aching head in confusion, Junko crouching in terror anytime junk was mentioned, and Stork staring intently at the map, trying to absorb every word of this amazing plan that would ride the ship of all harmful diseases.

"Um, Piper?" Aerrow interrupted.

"Yes, Aerrow?" Piper responded, looking towards the Sky Knight.

"The simple version, please?" Aerrow asked.

Piper sighed, "You take all the fun out of it..."

"No, he takes all the headache out of it!" Finn commented, receiving a nod of agreement from Radarr, and a nasty glare from Piper.

"Oh, fine! Have it your way!" Piper gave into her squadron mates' wishes, "Everyone has to clean their own room. After that, Finn cleans the hanger-bay..."

Finn grumbled, but left to get started on his part of the cleaning.

"...Junko cleans all the skimmers, Radarr goes through Junko's junk collection—"

"Why can't I go through my collection?" Junko interrupted, poking his head in the door, having just left to follow Finn.

"Because you'll keep everything!" Piper exclaimed, and the wallop slunk off sadly.

Then Piper turned back to the little blue creature, "As I was saying, Radarr will go through Junko's junk collection and pick out anything good that can be sold for scraps. The rest can go."

Radarr gave a chirp, then ran off to find some protective gear of his own, since an avalanche of junk was guaranteed to occur when he opened Junko's closet.

"Aerrow, you're in charge of cleaning the kitchen. If I let anyone else clean it, we'd be out of food by this afternoon." Piper said.

"Yes sir!" Aerrow answered, giving a mock salute, "I'll do my best to clean while only eating half of our food supplies!"

"I'll be in to check on you then." Piper commented, pointing her duster at Aerrow in warning.

"I know you will." Aerrow gave Piper a playful wink and flashed her a cocky grin before scooting out the door.

"Aerrow!" Piper yelled after him, half angry, but half laughing too, "And its _**ma'am**_ to you!"

Turning around, Piper found Stork looking at her with raised eyebrows.

"Oh, don't start." Piper said, her voice reeking of annoyance.

"I still think you and Aerrow should be tested." Stork mumbled to himself darkly, "You both have been acting different since we left that palace. Probably picked up some mind melting disease—"

"What did you say Stork?" Piper asked, eyes narrowed.

"Nothing..." Stork muttered, "I guess I'm in charge of the bridge?"

"Yes, and I have to clean the bathrooms." Piper shivered at the thought.

"Good luck..." Stork said as Piper left the room. When he was sure she'd gone, his tone turned dark, "You're going to need it."

* * *

"Ew!" Piper complained, screwing up her face as she threw out a large bag of garbage, "I'm _**so**_ making Finn do the bathrooms next year!"

"That bad, huh?" Aerrow asked, his head stuck out the kitchen door just down the hall.

"Well, _**my**_bathroom was already spotless, but you guys are just _**disgusting**_." Piper commented, folding her arms angrily.

"I used to try to keep it presentable," Aerrow defended, "But I gave up pretty quick."

Piper shook her head at the grinning Sky Knight as she walked down the hall towards him, "And how are you doing?"

"Almost done!" Aerrow replied triumphantly.

"Well, I won't believe it until I see it." Piper said, "Finn told me the same thing ten minutes into cleaning, and trust me, he wasn't _**anywhere**_ near finished."

"Come on in, your highness." Aerrow said, sweeping his arm into the kitchen and bowing dramatically.

Piper rolled her eyes at the foolish teen as she entered.. However, her expression soon turned from sceptical to highly impressed. The kitchen was near spotless. The floor had been mopped, the counters and tables whipped, dishes cleaned and put away, and even the food splatter on the walls had been removed.

"Wow Aerrow, you _**actually**_ did a good job!" Piper said.

"And you doubted me?" Aerrow said, faking hurt.

"Yes, I did." Piper turned to grin at the Sky Knight.

"Since we're both done," Aerrow said, "Why don't we go clean the Condor's balcony?"

"Aerrow, what are you talking about?" Piper asked, but was given no answer.

Instead, Aerrow grabbed Piper's hand and led her out of the kitchen and down the hall. Soon, they came to the door that led to the Condor's balcony. Opening the door, Aerrow stepped outside.

"You coming?" he asked, turning back.

"I guess." Piper answered.

As she stepped out, Piper crossed her arms for warmth as a cool breeze hit her, flying her hair about. She made her way over to where Aerrow stood smiling by the railing.

"So, what is there to clean out here?" Piper asked.

"Nothing." Aerrow answered.

"But you said–" Piper started.

"Shush." Aerrow commanded, "Just take a break for a moment. We've worked hard all day, we deserve it."

"But really–" Piper began again.

"_**Piper**_.." Aerrow said, closing his eyes and letting the wind hit his face, "Isn't the wind nice and relaxing?"

"No, it's cold." Piper mumbled, pouting.

Piper jumped as two strong arms wrapped around her shoulders from behind.

"This better?" Aerrow asked, pulling her in closer and laying his head on her shoulder.

Piper turned her head away to hide her growing blush. As she looked back, Piper saw a blue tail sticking out from behind the open door.

"Radarr!" she exclaimed, as she and Aerrow jumped apart.

Said creature gave an surprised chirp. Then, knowing he was caught, he slunk out onto the balcony, holding up a random piece of metal like a peace offering.

Piper's face softened at the sight of the poor creature, "Oh, so you've finished with Junko's junk collection?"

Seeing that he wasn't going to be in trouble, Radarr nodded happily. He then took one of Aerrow's and Piper's hands and led the pair inside. Letting go, Radarr ran over to a huge box and pointed proudly to it. The box was full of various scraps of all shapes and sizes.

"Great job, buddy." Aerrow praised.

"Yeah Radarr, you did excellent." Piper added, "Junko didn't give you any trouble, did he?"

Radarr's only answer was to grin manically before bouncing out of the door and down the hall.

"I wonder what that was about." Aerrow commented.

It was then that they heard loud banging and Junko's yells, "Help! Radarr locked me in my closet and hide my knuckle-busters!"

Piper and Aerrow ran to help the poor wallop, both knowing that he wouldn't be able to get himself out of the steal-enforced closet, and that the wallop was scared of the dark.

* * *

**I'm not totally happy with the A/P scene in this chapter. It feels too cliche... and I'm really big on doing new and unique things in my writing. I have a bad feeling that the A/P relationship in this fic my be heading the cliche root, and I'll apologize in advance.**

**I'll make it clear now that, though Sophia has survived, I have no plans to have any of Aerrow's other siblings surviving. I'm not out for a total happy ending, because, as I've said before, I like to make my stories as realistic as possible. This is also why I will probably never create an OC that has special powers or anything...**

**Sorry to SakariWolfe agian... still having trouble with your choice fic... I'll do my best to have it up by the end of the month!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Well, this will be the last Emily-only chapter. From here on in, there will be Storm Hawks characters in every chapter (I think).**

**Note: the page breaks represent the beginning and end of flashbacks.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Storm Hawks, nor "The Call" by Regina Spektor.**

* * *

Chapter 5

"_Pick a star on the dark horizon_

_and follow the light."_

"_Ahh!_" Emily groaned as she made her way up the stairs to the bathroom. She needed to clean herself up. Old man Philip's skimmer had been a nightmare to fix. She'd had to pretty much rebuild the whole wing that fell off, and the skimmer had not neglected to spark as she attempted to rewire it. Add on the full paint job, plus some other minor fixes, so the stupid machine had taken her all morning to put in decent shape!

Looking into the bathroom mirror, Emily realized it was now herself that was in a horrible state. Her cloths were torn and dirty, almost all her hair had escaped her ponytail, and her face was full of soot and grease. Sighing, she splashed some water on her face and attempted to pull back her unruly hair. Satisfied that she was at least partly presentable now, Emily made her way to the kitchen to grab some lunch.

When she entered the tiny kitchen, Emily found Judy working hard at the stove. The elderly woman was chopping vegetables for what looked like a large pot of stew.

"Oh, Emily dear," Judy didn't have to turn around to know the young woman was there, "Would you go tell Josh that lunch will be ready in about ten minutes?"

* * *

"Sophia, would you find Michael and tell him lunch is ready?" her mother asked.

"Sure, mom!" Sophia smiled, then ran off to find her missing brother.

The little girl looked in all the usual places. She scouted out Michael's room, searched the courtyard and looked all over the family's living quarters in the palace.

"Michael! Where are you?" Sophia called, "Come ou', come ou' where eber you are!"

However, the little girl couldn't find head nor tail of her older brother. She ran all around the palace trying to find the boy, but he was nowhere to be found.

Finally, after searching the courtyard a second time, Sophia gave up. Sighing, she plopped down on the stone floor, tired from all her running. Lying back, Sophia put her hands behind her head and gazed skyward. Closing her eyes, she let a gentle breeze sweep over her, cooling her heated body.

Sophia shot up as the breeze brought to her more then just coolness. There was a soft sound drifting through the air, one that Sophia found hard to place. Then it hit her; it was quiet sobs.

Standing, Sophia followed the sounds of crying. They lead her to the other end of the courtyard, behind a large push that had been cut in the shape of a bird.

Peeking around the side of the bush, Sophia saw something she hadn't exspected. Michael sat crouched on the ground, head on his knees and hands over his eyes. His body shock with near-silent sobs.

"Michael?" Sophia asked quietly.

The boy's head shot up, great shame evident on his face. He hurried to wipe away the tears and snort running down his face in his sleeve, but there was no tricking his little sister.

"Waz wong?" Sophia asked, worried about her older brother, whom she could never remember ever crying before.

"Nothing." Michael's answer was blunt and final, but that didn't bother Sophia.

"Don' lie!" she countered, "I knows someting's wrong!"

"It's _**nothing**_!" Michael answered angrily, "You wouldn't understand anyway!"

"Well, maybes I woub!" Sophia was not giving up, her brothers anger only heightening her own.

"Fine," Michael sighed, "I'll tell you, but you have to promise to keep it a secret and not tell _**anyone**_!"

"Okay!" Sophia smiled.

"Pinky swear?" Michael held out his right pinky finger.

"Pinky swears!" Sophia linked her own little finger with her older brother's.

"It's just," Michael searched for the right words, "Adrien and Brandon said I was a big wimp and wasn't aloud to play with them anymore."

"Dat all?" Sophia asked.

"What do you mean!?" Michael's anger returned.

"Well, days say dats to me all de time, and day always lets me play wid dem again!" Sophia explained.

"That's not my problem." Michael's face fell, "I know they'll let me come back, but I _**can't**_ go back. They think I'm a coward because I won't do stuff they ask me to. I can't face them again."

"Well, I goes backs all de times, an' I don' feel bad." Sophia said.

"Yeah, but you have an excuse." Michael answered, "You're a _**girl**_."

"An' wha' abouts Charles?" Sophia offered, "He don' do nodding dat Adrien and Brandon tells 'im."

"He's braver then both of us." Michael said knowledgeably.

"Well, you can play wid Charles an' me if you likes!" Sophia said with a smile.

Michael smiled sadly, looking up at the little girl, "You mean it?"

"Yeah!" Sophia's grin widened, "You can play wid us 'til you wants to go backs wid Adrien and Brandon."

"Thanks, Sophia." Michael smiled as took his sister in an embrace, tears in his eyes, "I don't know why you're so nice to me, I'm always so mean to you."

"I knows id's nod you." Sophia returned the hug, "Id's dem makin' you say stuffs. An' I'm jus' as bads sometimes."

"Come on." Michael stood, taking Sophia's hand, "I bet it's almost lunchtime."

"Oh, id is!" Sophia exclaimed, "Dats wads I'm supposed to finds you fer!"

"Well, lets go before there's nothing left!" Michael said as he and Sophia raced towards the dinning room, laughing all the way.

* * *

"Emily?" Judy snapped her fingers in front of the young woman's eyes, "What's gotten into you lately? Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine, Judy." Emily reassured with a smile, "I'm just a bit preoccupied these days. I'll go get Josh."

"Oh, no you don't!" Emily cringed, she knew that tone, "You're not going anywhere, missy, in that state!"

Judy must have just seen Emily's torn and dirty attire. Judy was very strict about cleanliness, and Emily knew that she was not meeting the old woman's standards at the moment.

"You go get a shower and find some decent cloths." Judy ordered, pointing towards Emily's bedroom, "I'll get Josh."

Shoulders slumped, Emily grudgingly dragged herself down the hall to her room. Sifting through her messy dresser, Emily threw various garments on her bed as she found them. She soon found herself digging through a pile of socks, desperately searching for a matching pair.

It was then that Emily came across a shoebox that she'd almost completely forgot about. Socks forgotten, Emily sat down on her creaking bed, and carefully lifted the lid.

Inside was the teddy bear Emily had woken up to find in her hand the day of the Cyclonian invasion. It was still as tattered and torn as it was that day. She'd had to hide the teddy away for it to escape Judy's war on dirt.

Emily smiled as she saw the rusty chain and gold ring were still around the bear's neck. She reached down and held the smooth metal in her hand.

* * *

Though she had tried her hardest to be brave, Sophia couldn't stop the sting of tears in her eyes.

She sat against a wall of the bridge of the airship that was transporting her and her siblings to their new places of residence. It was actually the second airship they'd been on that morning. They'd changed ships after dropping off half the children, to make it harder for any Cyclonian spies to follow them.

Michael, Harriot, Aerrow and Adrien had already been left with their temporary families. For the first time she could remember, Sophia had seen her strong twin brothers break down when they realized that they would not be left with the same family. She'd ended up turning away, not being able to see the ship hands drag Adrien down the gangway, and holding Brandon back on the ship. Once they'd flown away, Brandon had stopped fighting and become very quiet. He now sat alone in a corner, staring blankly ahead with tear filled eyes. Crystal and Jacob had both talked to him in an attempt to cheer him up, but nothing worked. This sudden change of personality scared Sophia, and she wouldn't go anywhere near the boy.

Sophia sat against another wall, hugging her teddy tightly to her chest. Hearing laughter, the little girl looked over to see Jacob smiling among his fellow Storm Hawks. She was happy that he wasn't mad anymore. Since they'd switched ships to the _Condor_, Jacob's bad mood had vanished, and he'd become the brother Sophia had always known and loved.

"You alright, Sophia?" she looked up to see Charles looking down at her.

Sophia nodded, but couldn't stop the tears from flowing down her cheeks.

"Der goin' ta split us ups too!" she sobbed, "Jus' likes Adrien and Brandon!"

"Don't worry Sophia, we won't be apart for long!" Charles reassured, "Mom and dad promised!"

"Bud no ones can keeps _**every**_ promise." Sophia said sadly.

Charles' face hardened in thought. After a moment, his face lightened. Grabbing Sophia's hand, he pulled her up and lead her out a door, onto a balcony.

Wind whipped around the two children, wrapping their hair and cloths around them. Sophia clasped her arms around her brother's stomach, worried she might blow away.

"Don't worry, you're not going to get swept away!" Charles laughed, reading his sister's mind.

Slowly, the little girl let go. Once she was positive she was safe, Sophia spread her arms wide, and large grin making its way across her face.

"I feels likes I'm flyin'!" Sophia laughed.

Charles did the same, joining in his sisters laughter, "Hey! It does feel like you're flying!"

Once their laughing had died down, Charles looked over his shoulder, towards door.

"Watcha doin'?" Sophia asked.

"Making sure no one's watching." Charles answered.

"Why?" Sophia asked with interest.

Reaching under his shirt, Charles pulled out a metal chain. On it, was a simple gold ring. It was Charles' lucky ring. He'd found in a few months before when they had been playing hide-and-seek. No one had been able to find Charles' for the rest of the day, so he had decided that the ring must be very lucky.

Not wanting anyone else to know about it and take it from him, Charles' wore his lucky ring around his neck on a chain. Sophia was the only other person who knew of the ring.

"Here." Charles handed Sophia the ring, "Take it, for luck.."

"I can'ts Charles!" Sophia argued, "Id's yer lucky ring! Id's yer mosts favourite ting!"

"No, I want you to have it Sophia." Charles said confidently, "You need luck more then me. I'll be okay. I'm not scared."

"I'm nods scared eider!" Sophia objected.

"But I bet Charley is." Charles pointed to the bear.

Sophia looked down at the teddy, whom she'd named after her brother, nodding, "Charley is scared."

"Then he'll need my lucky ring." Charles said with a smile, placing the chain around the bear's neck.

"Charley says tanks!" Sophia smiled, then embraced her brother, "I says tanks too!"

"You're both very welcome." Charles beamed, returning Sophia's embrace.

The children turned their eyes skyward. The seemingly endless darkness was brightened by the crystal lights that twinkled and shimmered, making the most amazing lightshow.

"Id's so pretty." Sophia commented.

"Yeah," Charles sighed happily, "I know some constellations. Would you like me to show you some?"

"Me an' Charley woub love dat!" Sophia smiled.

* * *

"Emily! Where are you?" Judy's voice called, "Don't take all day, we've got work to do!"

"I'm hurrying!" Emily called, but she didn't get off her bed.

She sat, staring at the musky teddy in her hands, running her fingers over the golden ring. Silent tears streaked down Emily's face, quiet sobs shaking her shoulders, as she remembered the sweet little boy who had so selflessly given up his most prized possession.

"_Pick a star on the dark horizon_

_and follow the light."_

* * *

**My goal in this chapter was to give Michael, Adrien and Brandon a little place in your hearts, because I've haven't been showing them in their best light. A bit of vulnerability would do the trick ;) Of course, I couldn't resist putting sweet little Charles in again :D**

**I feel that this fic must not be up to snuff with my last, because I haven't been getting anywhere near the response as I did for Sky Prince. But, I guess I took a chance, starting the fic off with all those OCs... Oh well! Don't worry, I'll finish it! I always finish what I start.**

**Review if you can, that is all I ask.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hope you like this chapter!**

**Note: page breaks represent the beginning and end of flashbacks**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Storm Hawks or the song "The Call"**

* * *

Chapter 6

"_All you can do is try to know who your friends are_

_As you head off to the war."_

He opened the throne room doors forcefully as he strode in. The young woman, who worked at the large, clanking machine at the front of the room, turned. Her long cape swished behind her, dragging on the stone floor.

His red eyes stared up at her, cold and emotionless. A maniacal grin swept across the woman's face as he raised his hand to produce a crystal glowing blue and purple.

"Everything went according to plan, I presume?" Master Cyclonis inquired.

"I blasted the Sky Knight and Queen Gabriella, just as you asked." the Dark Ace responded.

"Excellent." his Master hissed, chuckling evilly.

"Tell me, what does this new creation of yours do, anyway?" the Dark Ace questioned sceptically, "It didn't seem to have much an effect, except stunning that pesky Sky Knight for a minute."

"Such doubt you have, Dark Ace." Master Cyclonis' face hardened, "But if you must know every detail of my plan, then I shall _**show**_ you what this magnificent crystal does."

With great speed and agility, Master Cyclonis put the crystal into her staff and shot at the Dark Ace. The surprised man had no time to react, and had no choice but to let the blast hit him. The Dark Ace flew across the room, landing on his back. He lay - stunned - on the floor for a few moments, then strained to stand.

By this time, Master Cyclonis had her back to her head Talon. She had placed the blue and purple crystal into her odd machine and proceeded to press various buttons and dials. Suddenly, an image was projected from the top of the machine, floating over their heads.

Dark Ace took a sharp intake of breath. He was unprepared for the image that was shown.

* * *

"The Cyclonian attacks keep getting worse and worse." Jacob commented.

"Yes," Ace nodded in agreement, "Some say they will declare war soon."

"I feel so helpless!" Jacob's frustration evident in his clenched fists, "My stupid parents won't let me leave the boundaries of the terra! They force me to have to sneak away in the night to join the fight; like some common criminal!"

"You're no criminal, Jacob." Ace layed a comforting hand on the prince's shoulder, "You're parents are just worried about you. They want to protect you."

"Yeah, but whose going to protect everyone else?" Jacob sighed, then he smiled slyly "And why are you sounding so much like my sister all of a sudden? Been spending some time with her, have we?"

"Hey, Crystal's not hard on the eyes, if you know what I mean." Ace defended, smiling back at his best friend.

"Just don't let my parents find out!" Jacob warned, laughing, "We both know they're more protective of my sisters then they are of me! And that's saying something!"

"Well, screw your parents!" Ace laughed, "I think we're both old enough to make our own decisions without your parents telling us what to do!"

King Jeremy and Queen Gabriella were the closet thing Ace had ever had to real parents. His mother had died in childbirth, and he had no idea who his father was. When he'd meet Jacob four years ago, the boy had brought him home and the royal family had taken him in with open arms. They showed him great love and caring, but - thankfully - the king and queen were not as protective of him as they were their real children. Ace was happy with the freedom this gave him.

"Hey! Ace and Jacob are back!" came a cry from down the hall. Jacob's five youngest siblings came running down the hall. The two trouble making twins got to them first. They had always looked up to the two older boys, saying they would be just like them someday.

"Did you get lots of 'em?" Brandon asked.

"I bet they took out a full battalion of Talons!" Adrien exclaimed.

"I bets they wacked 'undreds of 'em!" Ace couldn't help but smile at the beaming face of little Sophia.

The berate of excited comments continued, as the four boys and girl - who was almost a boy anyway - danced happily around the feet of the two Storm Hawks.

"Now, that's enough!" Crystal's voice rang out from behind, and all turned to see her and Harriot coming to bring their greetings.

"So, you didn't get yourselves killed?" Harriot asked, sounding disappointed.

"Harriot!" Crystal scolded, then turned to the two older boys, "Well, _**I'm**_ happy you've both returned safe and sound."

"Not a scratch on us." Ace commented with a smile, making the young woman blush.

Harriot rolled her eyes, then turned to Jacob, "So, did you—"

"JACOB!" all present cringed as the booming voice of King Jeremy seemed to vibrate the whole castle.

Jacob sighed, "Time the face the music."

Their father turned the corner, face red and fuming, "All of you, leave! Jacob and I need to have a little chat!"

"_Chat?_" Harriot whispered sceptically as they all hurried to get out of the path of their raging father, some glancing back at Jacob sympathetically.

"Not so fast, Ace!" said boy sighed, he'd been hoping to escape along with the others, "You are an accomplis, are you not?"

Shoulders slumped, Ace dragged himself back to stand by his friend.

"Thanks for the support." Jacob said sarcastically.

"Anytime." Ace mumbled back.

"No talking!" the king bellowed, "I can't _**believe**_ you two! I _**ordered**_ you to stay on the terra, Jacob! And Ace, you should know better then to encourage his brash behaviour! The pair of you have _**ashamed **_me! When will you stop thinking about yourselves, and consider that there are other people in this world who care about you and your safety?"

"When will _**you**_ stop thinking of yourself?" Jacob retorted.

"This has nothing to do with _**me**_! This is all about _**you**_!" his father responded.

"It has everything to do with _**you**_!" Jacob was almost screaming now, "The only reason you worry about my safety is that you want me to take the crown! You don't want me to be a Sky Knight and fight in this war, because then you'll have no one to be your successor for another six years or more, when the twins are old enough! You were just looking forward to an early retirement, that's all!"

"How can you say that? How can you even think that!?" King Jeremy was yelling right back at his son, "Your mother and I want what is best for you! We want to give you a bright future! A future that won't have you killed before you're thirty!"

"Well, _**here's**_ what I think of _**your**_ future!" Jacob yanked of the plan gold ring that was on his right index finger - the ring of the crown prince - and threw it out the window. It fell into the courtyard below.

The king's mouth was gapping in shock. No words came to him.

"From now on, I make my own future." Jacob said, before turning to march down the hall.

Once the king was over his shock, he hung his head sadly and walked down the hall in the opposite direction of his son. Ace was left standing alone in the hall.

* * *

"Never knew you were such a sweetheart." Master Cyclonis sneered.

"I was eighteen." the Dark Ace commented, "I was young and naive."

"Yes, naive to the fact that your father was Master Cyclonis, himself." the young woman grinned devilishly, "It just occurred to me how alike you and Aerrow are, my _**dear**_ half-brother."

Dark Ace clenched his teeth in anger, sneering at the young woman. He hated being compared to that little runt of a Sky Knight. He was nothing compared to his eldest brother.

Dark Ace still envied Jacob. The young man had been much braver then he ever could be. He'd had the strength and courage to decide his own future, and not let his parentage decide his path. Yet, Dark Ace found himself feeling jealous of Aerrow as well. For the young man had also gone against his parents' wishes.

"So much like his brother." Dark Ace mumbled to himself, a hint of loss evident in his voice.

"So, I'm guessing you've figured out what my new little invention does." Master Cyclonis commented.

The Dark Ace looked at her blankly. Lost in his thoughts, he'd totally forgotten about the crystal.

"No?" Master Cyclonis sighed in disappointment, "Well, I guess I'll have to spell it out for you. _**As always.**_ I call it the imagi-stone. This crystal has the power to steal the memories of anyone who is unfortunate enough to get caught in its blast."

"You have _**all**_ my memories?" the Dark Ace felt uneasy about Master Cyclonis having access to everything he had ever experienced.

"You sound worried, Dark Ace." Master Cyclonis smiled, "But no, I do not have all your memories. The longer a person is blasted by the crystal, the more memories it can steal. If a person is blasted long enough, the crystal will steal all their memories, and they will be left with none."

"And, what do you plan to do with these stolen memories?" the Dark Ace asked.

"No need to bother yourself, _**Ace**_." Master Cyclonis answered, turning to her machine, "You can just go back to your reminiscing."

"_All you can do is try to know who your friends are_

_As you head off to the war."_

* * *

**Well, this chapter was definately different from my others. I thought it would be interesting to show Jacob through the Dark Ace's memories, and show that Dark Ace is actually human.**

**I seemed to have continued with the theme that the strongest people are those who make their own decisions and follow their own heart, and not those who follow the crowd and do what others want them to do. I interduced this in the flashback between Michael and Sophia (when he commented that Charles was the bravest of them all, for not doing what the twins wanted), and this theme was more evident in this chapter. I actually didn't really try this, but it seemed to connect so well. It's kinda like how the moment between Aerrow and Piper happened on the same balcony that Charles and Sophia shared their last moments together. I thought half-way through writing the chapter that the balcony represents the beginning of one close relationship and the end of another.**

**Anyway, I'm rambling again. I should mention that there probably won't be anymore updates for the next week. I'm out of town for a few days, and I can't bring my laptop, so I can't work on this fic while I'm gone. But you never know, I might get one more chapter done before I leave on Monday!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey everybody! I survived a four day bike trip (complete with sleeping in a tent and eatting dehidrated food... it was for my gold Duke of Edinburgh Award)!**

**Anyway, sorry it took so long to get this one up. I've been thinking about how to write this chapter since I started this fic, and I've changed it a few times. I'm still not sure it came out like I wanted, but oh well. I was considering splitting this into two chapters, but figured I'd keep it all in one update as a forgive me present!**

**Note: the page break in this chapter represents a change in setting!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Storm Hawks or the song quoted below.**

* * *

Chapter 7

"_It started out as a feeling_

_Which them grew into a hope_

_Which then turned into a quiet thought_

_Which then turned into a quiet word."_

"Quit moping, Junko." Piper sighed, beginning to get annoyed.

"But I've had a hard day!" Junko defended, "First you made us clean the _Condor_, then you threw out half of my junk collection, and then I got locked in my closet! It was dark and scary in there!"

"I don't care how bad a day you've had, or how many puppy-dog eyes you flash at me," Piper retorted, putting her hands on her hips, "We're still selling what's left of your junk collection! Now _**come on**_!"

Junko's shoulders slumped and his head drooped. He then picked up the heavy box that contained what was once his vast collection and followed Piper down the street.

"Ah, don't sweat it, pal." Finn said, laying a comforting hand on the wallop's shoulder, "You can just start a brand-new collection! You're a wiz when it comes to finding junk!"

"Yeah," Aerrow added, "And don't mind Piper. We all know she can go crazy over things sometimes."

Radarr chirped in agreement from his perch on Aerrow's shoulder.

"I heard that!" the boys cringed at Piper's remark, from her place a few paces ahead.

The Storm Hawks - minus Stork, who once again could not be persuaded to leave the safe confines of his ship - walked down the main street of a town that was situated on a small terra they'd stopped on. It was a pleasant little town. The main street was crowed with shoppers busy hurrying from one colourfully decorated store to another. There was something there to catch every Storm Hawks' eye, but Piper was not letting them get distracted.

"Hurry up, guys!" she called, dragging them away from their shops of interest, "You can goof off _**after**_ we sell Junko's junk."

"I still don't see why _**all**_ of us have to go sell this stuff." Finn grumbled.

"I already told you!" Piper sighed in annoyance, "We may only be able to trade for this stuff. So, if you want to help pick out what we get, you're coming!"

"_**Fine.**_" Finn whined, then followed the others down the street.

"So, where are we going anyway?" Aerrow asked.

"I asked around, and the best place for selling scrape metal is at this small aircraft repair store." Piper answered, "It's at the end of the main street."

The crowds began to thin as the group continued down the street. Before long, they came to the shop they were looking for. It was a neatly kept. The wooden front walk was clean swept and the sign reading _'Aircraft Repair and More'_ was freshly painted. A bell tinkled merrily as the Storm Hawks entered.

The inside of the store was just as neat and tidy as the outside. At first glance, it appeared to be empty, but they soon heard rummaging from behind the counter.

Junko walked over and dropped his heavy load onto the counter. The wooden frame groaned in protest, but held. Looking down, Junko spotted someone's baggy-jeaned behind.

"Umm, excuse me, sir?" Junko asked, and the person rose, "Whoops."

A young woman in her late teens turned to look at him with emerald eyes. She wore baggy jeans and a T-shirt. Her shoulder length black hair seemed to have been pulled back at one point, but most of it now dangled around her neck.

Piper sensed Aerrow tensing beside her. She glanced at the Sky Knight worriedly.

"Put her in a dress, and she could be my sister Crystal in my family painting!" Aerrow whispered, seeing Piper's concern.

"Aerrow, it must be a coincidence." Piper reassured, "Besides, Crystal didn't have green eyes, remember? You showed me your picture of the painting. Also, Crystal would be in her early thirties now."

"I guess..." Aerrow didn't know what to think.

"Hello." the young woman greeted, smiling, "I'm Emily. How may I help you?"

"You're a girl?!" Finn asked, flabbergasted.

"Nice to meet you too." Emily said with a chuckle, "Don't worry. I'm always being mistaken for a guy."

"You should have seen her when we first took her in! I called her Edmond for the first three years because it just didn't feel right calling her Emily!" all turned to the interrupting voice.

An elderly man lounged against the back door frame, eyes twinkling merrily.

"Yes, that probably didn't help people's confusion." Emily responded sarcastically, then turned back to the Storm Hawks, pointing in the old man's direction, "Meet Josh, our mechanic and resident funny-man. He and his wife Judy are my guardians."

"Guardians?" Piper inquired.

"Well, step-grandfather made me feel too old, and step-step-father was too big of a mouthful." Josh commented with a wink.

Emily just rolled her eyes, before explaining, "My first adoptive family were killed in a Cyclonian raid fourteen years ago."

"I'm so sorry." Piper felt horrible for bringing up such a touchy subject. She turned to look at Aerrow again, to see he was more troubled.

"A Cyclonian raid..." he mumbled, "...fourteen years ago..."

"They were good people, Emily's family." Josh said sadly, "I always found it funny myself, the similarities between Emily and her stepsister. The girl was only a year older, and if Emily here had dressed a bit more girly, you'd have sworn they were identical twins! Well, except for the fact that young Patience had blue eyes, not green like Emily's."

"Wow, that's kinda creepy." Finn commented.

"Is that really true?" Piper asked Emily.

"That's what I'm told." Emily shrugged, "I can't remember, myself. I hit my head the day of the attack and lost all my memories. I'm only just beginning to regain them."

"We're hoping she'll be able to remember her family soon, so we can better understand why the Cyclonians came here." Josh said, "It's still a mystery. All the buildings were burned to the ground, but no one else besides Emily's family were killed. It's said that those Talons went straight for the house and murdered them all. Emily was lucky enough to be out playing."

"Many people around here believe that my family is cursed and won't come near me." Emily continued, "But, I think the Cyclonians were looking for something. I can only guess that my family got in the way. Whatever it was they were after, the Talons didn't want any evidence left behind, so they burned down the whole town."

"Piper, this is all too much to be a coincidence." Aerrow whispered, "She might not be Crystal, but she could be Sophia. Just think about it. She looks around the right age, and she has black hair and green eyes. And my mother told me Sophia was a real tomboy."

"But Aerrow, your brothers and sisters are all dead." Piper argued, unbelieving, "Your parents would know if one of them was still alive. Remember how they kept tabs on you? Anyway, your sister's name was Sophia, remember, not Emily."

"Piper, her name could have easily been changed, for better protection." Aerrow countered, "And just think about it! That girl, Patience, was almost identical to her. The Talons could have easily mistaken her for Sophia, especially since she looked more like a boy."

"But, wouldn't she know?" Piper gave one last, desperate attempt to reason with Aerrow.

"She lost all her memories, Piper." Aerrow answered softly and sadly.

He looked over to Emily. Looked into her eyes - his _**own**_ emerald eyes. However, the girl's eyes now held a distant, far-off look.

"Emily?" Josh inquired, shaking the young woman lightly.

"Wha?" Emily asked, dazed.

"This has been happening a lot lately." Josh sighed, "Something triggers a memory, and she just spaces out."

"_Aerrow?_" Emily suddenly turned to the Sky Knight and crystals specialist, "You said _Aerrow_, and _Sophia_."

"Yes, we did." Piper responded, a bit shocked.

"Those names, they're in my dreams." Emily face was contorted with her effort to remember, "Aerrow was a little baby. His eyes were just like mine..."

Piper and Aerrow's jaws dropped.

"And Sophia..." Emily continued, "That's what all those people kept calling me! I can't figure out why they'd call me Sophia... I'd never heard the name before until my dreams..."

Piper shock her head in disbelief. Aerrow still couldn't move. The others looked on with confused faces.

"And there was a young boy named Charles." Emily went on, "He was the sweetest little thing..."

"Emily." Aerrow had finally snapped out of his state of shock, and his voice broke the young woman from her recollections, "I think we need to talk."

* * *

"Ah, Dark Ace." Master Cyclonis hissed, turning at the sound of his approaching footsteps, "I'm glad you've come. I have something I need to discuss with you."

"And what could my Master want to discuss with me?" the Dark Ace asked.

"My plan for the imagi-stone." the young woman answered.

"I thought your plans were beyond me." the Talon spoke in monotone.

"Oh, getting cheeky, are we?" Master Cyclonis flashed an evil smile, then turned serious, "Don't let me hear it from you again, _**Ace**_."

"Stop calling me that!" the Dark Ace sneered.

"Touchy." Master Cyclonis teased, "Brings back too many fond memories, does it _**Ace**_?"

The Dark Ace growled in response.

"Enough of this childishness." Master Cyclonis stated, "I have discovered something very intriguing while searching through my crystal's stolen memories."

The Dark Ace's face returned to it's regular emotionless expression. He had a horrible feeling that his memories would once again be attacked.

"You see," the dark clothed young woman continued, "My original plan was to use the queen and prince's memories to find information on how to destroy the royal family once and for all. However, by comparing _**your**_ memories to one of the dear Queen Gabriella's, I found yet another of your dreadful mistakes."

"What are you talking about?" the Dark Ace's voice was edged with anger.

"Do you remember one of the first orders our dear father gave you?" the current Master Cyclonis asked, "To kill the royal children."

The Dark Ace's face hardened. How could he ever forget? That order had been the beginning of his downfall into darkness, and the toughest task he had ever been given.

Killing his squadron mates had been - surprisingly - easier then excepted. They had been his closet friends, and because of that, they were the people with whom he had shared his best and worst moments. Though he'd had countless good memories, Ace's newfound father - Master Cyclonis, himself - had shown him how to harness the anger and hurt he felt from the few memories that were bad. His friends had been so surprised, they'd hardly been able to fight back. In the moments he took their lives, all Ace had felt was vast hatred towards them, but after, he was swallowed by regret.

Crystal had been the next to fall. She was the only one he did not kill himself. Ace couldn't bring himself to even walk into the house. He'd stood outside. Not a sound was heard, and he had foolishly let himself hope that Crystal had somehow escaped, that she was not there. But she was. He'd gone in afterward, to see her bloody body sprawled on the floor. She hadn't fought back, hadn't screamed for help, not even cried tears or begged for her life. Ace wished she'd done something. It may have drove him to run in and save her; to leave behind the life he had chosen. He'd wept bitterly that evening, knowing there was no going back. It was then that his heart plunged into the icy cold sea of darkness.

It had been fairy easy after that. Harriot had screamed at him in rage and disbelief. Both Adrien and Brandon had tried to be brave and fight back, but they were no match for a trained Talon, and fell with tearful faces. Dark Ace had found Michael hiding in a corner, head in his hands, crying for his parents. They never answered his calls.

His murder of young Charles still haunted him to this day. The little boy had walked out to meet the Dark Ace, asking him to not hurt anyone else, for Charles knew that they wanted him. The knowing look in the boys eyes never left the Dark Ace. Charles had been calm, as if he'd always expected this to be his fate. The image of that little boy, standing tall, with soft features on his face, as the blade swept towards him, never let the Dark Ace have a peaceful slumber.

Though she was the last, Sophia had been one of the hardest. Ace had always felt sympathy for the child. She was always left out because she was too small, or not a boy. Ace knew what it felt like to be rejected. On many occasions, he had tried to help Sophia even the score. Like one time, when Sophia was told she couldn't ride on a skimmer because she was too little, Ace had 'borrowed' Jacob's skimmer and taken the little girl for a ride. He'd faced a furious Jacob upon return, but it had been worth it to hear Sophia's squeals of glee.

Dark Ace could remember the day he'd murdered the little girl very clearly. They'd set the town on fire - as was their custom - so smoke and flames filled the air. He'd been stopped at the entrance to the home by a man, whom he slew in one clean stroke. Through the thick, blinding smoke, Dark Ace had seen a woman fleeing through a back entrance, and little girl in tow. He'd killed them as quick and painlessly as possible, to satisfy the little part of him that was still Ace. He didn't stay long enough to look at the bodies, not wanting to feel any remorse. It was then that the Dark Ace took over, and Ace was no more.

"Yes," the Dark Ace responded, "I remember my first orders."

"Then, you will also remember that you have yet to complete them." Master Cyclonis commented.

"Tell me something I don't already know!" the Dark Ace's voice rose, "I know I made a mistake, not learning about Aerrow. But do not fear, he will be dead by my sword soon enough."

"But that is where you are wrong, Dark Ace." Master Cyclonis hissed, "There is another royal child that you failed to kill."

"What are you talking about?" the Dark Ace's voice was filled with angry confusion.

"Allow me to show you." Master Cyclonis then activated her crystal machine, projecting two images above their heads.

"The one on the right is a memory of Queen Gabriella." Master Cyclonis pointed to the image of a family portrait, "This painting must have been important to her majesty. Most of her memories consisted of staring at this thing."

Master Cyclonis pressed a button, and the image of the painting zoomed in to focus on little Sophia, "Now, I want you to compare this child," Master Cyclonis pointed to the other image, of a little girl poking her head around a woman's skirt, "And this child."

The Dark Ace immediately recognised the second image as a still from his memory of murdering Sophia. The Dark Ace didn't know what Cyclonis was getting at. They were the same child. They had the same short, black hair. They had the same thin, little mouth. They had the same pale skin. They had the same green—

"No." Dark Ace whispered.

"So, you see it?" Master Cyclonis sneered, "These are not the same child. The one from Queen Gabriella's memories has green eyes, while the one from your memories has blue."

Master Cyclonis pushed another button on her machine, and a third image popped up overhead. Dark Ace could vaguely recall the frightened little boy whom he'd pushed aside the day of Sophia's murder - or what he thought had been Sophia's murder.

"I believe this is the child you were after." Master Cyclonis commented harshly.

"How could I have made such a mistake?" the Dark Ace couldn't believe his own stupidity. Of course the 'little boy' was Sophia! She'd always dressed like a boy. And that look in her eyes, it was recollection. She'd recognized him! How could hd not have seen?

"You were young and inexperienced." Master Cyclonis answered, "You let your emotions get in the way, and you made a mistake."

"I shall fix my mistake." the Dark Ace promised.

"Will you?" Master Cyclonis asked skeptically, "You haven't fixed your other one yet."

"I will complete my unfinished mission." Dark Ace stated cooly, "You have no need to doubt that."

"We'll see." Master Cyclonis hissed as the her half-brother turned and strode towards that large throne room doors.

"_It started out as a feeling_

_Which them grew into a hope_

_Which then turned into a quiet thought_

_Which then turned into a quiet word."_

* * *

**Well, that's another chapter! I'm still attempting to get this finished before August (I'm gone for almost two weeks starting the 4th), and I've got three oneshots I want to get up before the end of the summer! I've got my work cut out for me :S**

**For my observent readers, I hope you noticed my use of "Dark Ace" and "Ace" in the second half of this chapter, to represent Dark Ace's fall into darkness.**

**My readers should also note that I've changed the rating of this fic to "T", just to be on the safe side (with talking of death and all...)**

**As always, review if you can! And thanks for the support!**


	8. Chapter 8

**I'm alive! There was a reason I wanted to finish this fic before August... Let's just say that I had a VERY busy month, and then I started my first year of university, so I haven't stopped! Thankfully, I've had some time the last two days, so I got to work! I actually had this partly written before my absense, but I got writters block for what to do for a A/P moment, because I wanted to be original. However, I think it turned out too cliche :(**

**To answer phoenix220's questions about Emily/Sophia "blurting out" her story. I have two reasons for this. (1) I wanted Aerrow and Emily to meet before realizing they were siblings, but I was trying to get this fic done by August, and that would have added a few more chapters. (2) I put a lot of thought into that chapter and how I would have Emily and Aerrow figure out they were siblings (actually, I'd been thinking about and dreading that chapter the whole fic). What I decided to do was to make the conversation casual (with Josh and all) and have the issue of Emily's past come up. You should understand that Emily's story is well known on her terra, and any old joe in the street could have told the Storm Hawks about it. Think about it: a girl comes to the terra mysteriously, her family is murdered, she somehow survives, everyone think she's cursed, etc. It sounds like a ghost story! I considered having some crazed man on the street tell them the story in a ghost story manner, but again, my time restraint... So, really, Emily only told the Storm Hawks what anyone else could have. I just had Aerrow do some quick detective work ;)**

**Now, on with the fic!**

**Note: Page-breaks represent a shift in time and/or place.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Storm Hawks, nor the song "The Call" by Regina Spektor.**

* * *

Chapter 8

_"Just because everything's changing,_

_Doesn't mean it's never been this way before."_

Emily sat stunned. Was this all real? Could this all be true? Or was it some sick joke.

"Well, that's quite a tale." Judy commented when Aerrow finished his story.

The Storm Hawks, along with Judy, Josh and Emily were squished into small kitchen on the upper level of their home. Piper, Aerrow, Josh and Emily sat at the four seat table, while Finn, Junko and Radarr stood against the wall. Judy bustled about, trying to make some food to give their unexpected guests.

"Oh, sorry dear." Judy said as she pushed Finn into the wall as she passed.

"That lady's stronger then she looks!" Finn whispered to Junko as he rubbed his now bruised arm.

"Here you are," Judy beamed, laying a plate of wonderfully smelling cookies on the table, "Fresh from the oven!"

"Cookies!" Junko said excitedly as he and Radarr made a dive for the baked treats. Aerrow and Piper stood to block their way.

"Guys, use your manners!" Piper scolded.

"Yeah! You can't just take all the cookies like that!" the Storm Hawks turned in surprise at Finn's agreement, "It's _**my**_ turn to get first pick!"

Piper's shoulders sagged as she sighed dramatically. Josh began to laugh heartily, and soon everyone joined in.

Except Emily. She was lost in her own thoughts, still trying to digest all she'd just been told.

Emily was filled with overwhelming joy. She now knew who her true family was. All those children in her dreams were her brothers and sisters! One of her siblings was even sitting before her at that very instant! The hole in her heart that had always been a little empty - no matter how hard Josh and Judy tried to fill it - was now overflowing. Aerrow had also told Emily that her parents were still alive and well. She couldn't wait to see them, and to see her home. Maybe it would bring even more of her memories back!

However, for all her happiness, Emily also felt immense sorrow. All but one of her siblings were dead. It wouldn't matter how many memories returned to her, she would never be able to make any new ones with them, as she'd always dreamed of doing if she ever found her true family. Emily pictured each of her brothers and sisters faces, all smiling and happy. That's how she would remember them, when they knew nothing of war, violence and death. She'd remember those lovely, innocent faces.

"You okay?" Aerrow's voice drew Emily from her thoughts.

It took her a moment to realize that the kitchen was now empty, except for the two.

"Where is everyone?" she asked.

"It was far to crowded in here, and we still haven't traded our stuff in yet, so everyone went downstairs to the shop." Aerrow explained.

"And you?" Emily questioned.

"Stayed to keep my big sis company." Aerrow said with a friendly wink.

"_Sis_." Emily repeated, shaking her head, "That'll take some getting used to."

"Yeah, I was used to being an only child too. But after living with my squadron for a while, you get used to it. They're like a bunch of crazy brothers sometimes!" Aerrow chuckled.

Emily smiled, but her eyes held great sadness and confusion.

Aerrow sighed in understanding, "Believe it or not, I know how you feel. I thought my parents were dead until quite recently, and then I suddenly found out that my mom and dad were actually the king and queen of Atmos, and I had eight siblings who'd all been killed by the Cyclonians."

Emily looked up at the younger boy. She was again amazed to see her own eyes looking back at her from his face. His face held no laughter anymore, just a soft kindness, and what appeared to be a bit of hurt and sadness.

"I was mad at first." Aerrow continued, "It was all so sudden! I'd been happy with my life and how it was going, but fate had to throw me a curve ball. I found out my past was pretty much one big lie. I went from being an orphan to a prince overnight, and I hated it."

"Hated it?" Emily asked, a little confused, "How could you hate having found your real parents?"

"Well, you've always known that the people who raised you weren't your parents, but I spent the first fifteen years of my life thinking that our brother Jacob was my father, and my adoptive mother was my real mother." Aerrow tried to explain, "I felt betrayed, by both my real _**and**_ adoptive parents. I had it in my mind that I didn't want anything to do with my real parents, and misjudged them from the start. Just don't do that Emily, they're great people once you get past all the frills and formalities."

"I know Aerrow." Emily commented, smiling.

"Know what?" it was Aerrow's turn to be confused.

"That our parents are good people." Emily confirmed, "You are forgetting that I have memories of them. My memories show me that they are normal, caring parents. Sure, they have their bad moments, but they're human, and that's expected."

"Your taking this a lot better then me." Aerrow said with a smile, "I'd planned to run away the first night, believing that they'd abandoned me as a child, and only cared about me because they needed a successor."

"You sound like Jacob." Emily sighed, frowning sadly.

"You remember him?" Aerrow asked.

"I remember all of them." Emily answered.

"Will you tell me what you remember?" Aerrow asked eagerly.

"Only if you tell me what our parents told you about them." Emily answered.

"Deal." Aerrow smiled as he took his picture of their family painting from his pocket.

* * *

"Are you _**sure**_ you don't want to come see the Condor too?" Aerrow asked.

"We'll see it soon enough, dear." Judy answered with a smile, "Josh and I need to clue up some things here if we're going to come along to Atmosia with you."

"I wouldn't mind tagging along..." Josh began.

"Oh don't you start!" Judy cut in, "You just want to get out of cleaning!"

Everyone laughed as Josh crossed his arms and pouted like a child.

"Don't worry about us." Judy said after the laughter had died down, "You just take Emily and have some fun. But make sure you're back for dinner! I'm sure you kids can't be eating properly on that ship of yours."

"Hey, I cook for them all the time!" Junko defended.

"Which only supports her point." Piper stated.

* * *

"Wow." Emily said, wide eyed, as she followed the Storm Hawks into the Condor's hanger. "That is the coolest machine I've even seen!"

However, Emily didn't run to any of the boys' skimmers, or Piper's heliscooter. No, she went straight to the Stork-Mobile.

"Now, _**this**_ is an original!" Emily beamed, bending to look inside, "Are those anti-lock brakes?"

"Yes. It also has a booby-trap detector, indestructible tires, a roll bar, parachutes, fifty-two independent external airbags and an ejector seat." came the monotone voice of Stork as he entered the hanger, "Now, will you _**please**_ get your germ-filled hands off my vehicle."

"Oh, sorry." Emily said as she stepped away from the Stork-Mobile, still smiling, "I was just so impressed by the craftsmanship. And did you say it has an ejector seat?"

"You always need an ejector seat." Stork commented.

"Couldn't agree more." Emily answered.

"And, _**who**_ are you, may I ask?" Stork inquired.

"She's my older sister." Aerrow answered.

"You mean, she's a zombie!?" Stork's eyes bulged in fear, "Do you know how much bacteria and diseases corpses can carry! It'll take _**years**_ to rid the Stork-Mobile of them!"

"Uh...Stork?" Piper said.

Stork stopped his rant to look around at his fellow squad mates and their visitor. All wore questioning looks.

Emily snapped out of it first, shacking Stork's hand in greeting, "My name's Emily - well, it's actually Sophia, but I'm used to Emily - and I can _**assure**_ you that I'm no zombie."

Stork quickly drew his hand away, rubbing it against his shirt as if something nasty was on it, "But, how can you be Aerrow's sister if you're not a zombie?" Stork glared at Emily suspiciously, "Aerrow told us all his siblings were killed by the Cyclonians."

"It turns out that one survived." Aerrow said with a smile, placing a hand on Emily's shoulder.

"So, you're not dead?" Stork asked Emily.

"Nope." Emily answered.

"You're _**sure**_?" Stork persisted.

"Positive." Emily smiled at the doubting merb.

"Well then, I guess I can allow you to enter my ship." Stork sighed, waving a hand to direct the others to file into the hall in front of him.

"You sure you're related?" Stork asked Aerrow as he passed, "She has a far greater understanding of the amazing complexities of machinery then you will ever hope to dream of."

"I'll take that as a compliment!" Emily called from down the hall, making Stork jump.

After Emily had conformed to a full sanitization by Stork, the Storm Hawks preceded to give her the grand tour of the Condor.

Junko had insisted on showing Emily the kitchen first, and was intent on demonstrating his cooking skills, but the others rushed her out before she could eat something lethal. Next, they showed her their bedrooms. Emily was quite intrigued by Piper's crystal lab. However, the poor girl was soon overwhelmed with facts Piper threw at her on various crystals in the specialist's extensive collection. The boys and Emily soon left Piper to her experiments.

The tour lead the group to the bridge.

"This brings back memories." Emily commented.

The boys looked at her questioningly.

"I've been on the Condor before you know. The Sky Knight of the original Storm Hawks was my older brother after all." Emily answered their unasked question, "And this was the ship that brought me to this terra."

"Really?" Aerrow asked, "So, this ship brought all of our siblings to their new homes?"

Emily shock her head, "We changed to this ship after you, Michael, Harriot and Adrien were dropped off. They told me then it was so the Cyclonians couldn't track us so easily. However, looking back, it was probably so Jacob could join his squadron after we were all safely on our terras, without mom and dad finding out."

"Hey, want to see the engine room?" Junko asked excitedly.

"Sure!" Emily smiled, not having much of a choice as she was dragged off by the friendly wallop, Stork, Finn and Radarr in tow.

"If you guys don't mind, I'm going to make sure Piper didn't blow herself up yet." Aerrow said to the departing group.

"Sure, go ahead. These guys'll keep me company." Emily answered, "We'll see ya in a few."

With a wave, Aerrow headed off in the direction of Piper's room.

"So," Emily asked when Aerrow had gone, "What's with Piper and Aerrow? Are they together?"

"What!?" Finn laughed, "Where on earth did you get _**that**_ idea?"

"Yeah, Piper and Aerrow are just really good friends." Junko said.

"I still think they all have mindworms." Stork mumbled to no one in particular.

As the boys led the way into the engine room, Emily stopped for a moment to look down at Radarr.

"How blind can you get?" she asked the little blue creature.

Radarr rolled his eyes dramatically and chirped in agreement.

Emily laughed, "Want a lift?" she asked, holding out a friendly arm.

Radarr nodded happily, then jumped onto the girls shoulders as she followed her three other guides.

* * *

"Hey." Aerrow said, leaning against the door of Piper's room.

The crystals specialist sat at her desk, large goggles covering her eyes. She had multiple crystals laid on the table, all different colours and unknown to Aerrow.

Piper didn't turn at Aerrow's greeting, so the Sky Knight assumed she was too enthralled in her work to notice him. As Piper began to place the crystals in different patterns on her desktop, Aerrow quietly walked up behind her, a mischievous smirk playing at his lips.

As he drew closer to the unsuspecting crystals specialist, Aerrow could hear her mumbling to herself as she went to place the last crystal, "...got to put them in the exact spot..."

Aerrow slowly brought his lips right next to Piper's ear and whispered, "What you up to?"

Piper jumped in surprise, dropping the crystal on the desktop. Ripping off her goggles, she turned to glare at Aerrow, but stopped when she found her lips coming into contact with the Sky Knight's.

The kiss was short and sweet, but Piper enjoyed it none the less. When Aerrow pulled away, she momentarily forgot her ruined experiment. However, her amnesia didn't last long.

"If you think a kiss is going to stop my wrath, you're wrong!" Piper shouted at a smirking Aerrow, "Do you know how many weeks I've been researching and experimenting, all to led up to this experiment!? This is highly important and dangerous! I need to have _**total **_concentration to complete it! If one of these crystals is layed in the wrong spot, the imbalance of power could be devastating!"

"Uh, Piper?" Aerrow's smirk was now gone as he looked over the crystal specialist's shoulder, to her experiment.

"_**What?**_" Piper exasperated, turning to see what Aerrow was now worriedly pointing to.

All the crystals on the desktop were now glowing brightly. As the pair watched, the crystals began to shake violently, rattling around on the small desk.

"This doesn't look good." Aerrow commented.

The crystals began to move towards each other, forming a large, glowing ball in the middle of Piper's desktop. The glowing intensified, and the illuminated mass began to emit an ear-piercing ring.

"Get down!" Aerrow cried, dragging Piper down to the floor with him.

There was a flash of light and a horrific BOOM. Piper cringed under Aerrow, who had thrown himself on top of her in am attempt to protect her from debris. Both lay still on the floor, momentarily dazed from the shock the experience.

"You ok?" Aerrow asked.

Piper only then realized that she had closed her eyes. Opening them, she found herself face-to-face with Aerrow, their noses touching.

"Y-yeah." Piper chocked, unsure whether it was caused by the dust or Aerrow's closeness.

Aerrow's worried expression fled, and he smiled down at the crystals specialist, "I'm sorry I blew up your room. Can I make it up to you?" he asked as he leaned in closer.

"Hey, you guys ok?!" came Finn's shout from down the hall.

"Yeah." Aerrow answered as he rose, extending an arm to Piper. She took his hand and was assisted to her feet.

"Wow." Emily said, wide-eyed as she walked in, the other Storm Hawks following, "This is some major damage."

Piper sighed sadly as she scanned her room, noting how right Emily was. Her room looked like a war zone. Stray papers, crystals and belongings lay in a singed mess on what was left of her floor. Her bed and desk were gone - totally blown away - a large hole where they once were.

"As I said before, I always wanted a better view." Piper sighed, staring out at the clouds passing by.

"I thought you were only _**joking**_ about Piper blowing herself up." Emily said, turning to Aerrow.

"He said that, did he?" Piper asked, glaring at Aerrow, who cringed, "Well, I was actually doing fine, until _**someone**_ distracted me and made me mess up my experiment."

"Does this mean you'll stop going on about me blowing up you room?" Stork asked hopefully.

"NO!" Piper yelled, "I'll just go on about _**both**_ of you blowing up my room!"

"Excellent." Stork said in sarcastic monotone.

"Don't worry." Emily said, as she examined the damage more closely, "I think Josh and I can have this fixed in a few days, a week at most."

"I guess I've got both you girls mad at me then." Aerrow commented.

"Why?" Emily asked, confused.

"I've just put off you seeing our parents for a week." Aerrow answered.

"Aerrow, I've waited 15 years, I don't think another week is going to kill me." Emily said, then ruffled his hair, "Anyway, little brothers are supposed to be annoying nuisances."

* * *

"Piper, won't you at least yell at me or something?!" Aerrow exasperated.

The crystals specialist was giving him the silent treatment.

The Storm Hawks - including Stork, who wanted to make check Josh's credentials before letting the old man touch his precious ship - were making there way down the main street, towards Emily's home. Shoppers were as busy as ever, rushing this way and that to buy their final items before closing.

Suddenly, there was a loud BOOM, and screams from further down the street. People began running away from the enormous cloud of black smoke that began to billow up from the site of the explosion. The crowd swarmed around the Storm Hawks, knocking them this way and that. Shopping bags and belongings were dropped, children cried, and adults screamed at each other in fear.

"No." Emily whispered, covering her face with her hands, "Not again! Not again!"

Then - without a second thought - Emily lifted her head and ran through the crowd, towards the cloud of smoke, "Josh! Judy!" she called, looking for her guardians.

The Storm Hawks followed close behind the young woman as she pushed against the current of people. Junko ran ahead to open a space in the crowd. No one wanted to get in the way of the wallop, so the going got easier.

As Emily and the Storm Hawks drew closer to the blast site, the crowd thinned. All around them, shops and buildings were ablaze. The walls of flame surrounded them on both sides, licking hungrily at the air. The Storm Hawks chocked and sputtered, finding it hard to breath.

Coming up to Judy and Josh's shop, Emily rushed ahead of the others. When she came to her home, Emily stopped dead.

The shop was just burning rubble. It was obvious that this was were the blast had gone off. The walls and roof lay scattered all around, some debris had slammed into neighbouring stores, causing them to cave in.

Emily's eyes scanned the area, looking for something - _**anything**_ - that would tell her that Josh and Judy were safe. Her eyes fell upon a small mound a few strides away. Emily ran over, and fell to her knees. Bending over, she carefully picked up a half-burned teddy, the chain and ring still around his neck.

"Charley." Emily sobbed, hugging the bear to her chest.

Aerrow walked over to his sister and layed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Tears stung his eyes as he watched Emily breaking down in front of him.

"Is the little Sky Knight crying?" came a mocking voice just paces away.

Aerrow's head shot up. There stood the Dark Ace, red eyes gleaming in the light of the flames. He leaned against his sword, smiling cooling at the tear-faced Aerrow.

"How could Dark Ace get on the terra without the Condor's alarms going off?" Piper asked.

Junko gave an awkward laugh, "Because, the alarms wouldn't stop after your room exploded, so I shut them down."

"Junko!" Piper's hand meet her forehead.

"What do you want Dark Ace." Aerrow asked cooly, seemingly ignorant of his teammates' remarks.

"Finishing what I started fifteen years ago." the talon commander responded.

"Isn't that what he said _**last **_time?" Finn inquired.

Dark Ace snarled at the sharpshooter before addressing the sobbing Emily, "I asked your stepparents very nicely where you were, but they wouldn't tell me."

The talon slowly walked towards Emily, who was still crying into her teddy bear. Aerrow drew his twin daggers.

"I gave them _**many**_ warnings. I told them that if they didn't tell me where you were, I'd have no choice but to destroy their home." the Dark Ace continued, then grinned evilly "Though, I may have forgot to mention that they would be _**in**_ the house..."

Emily's head shot up. Her green eyes met the Dark Ace's in an outraged glare.

The Dark Ace took a step back. His menacing smirk ran from his features, being replaced with those of shock and recognition.

_"Just because everything's changing,_

_Doesn't mean it's never been this way before."_

* * *

**There you have it! I made it extra long to say sorry for not updating!**

**Only two or so chapters left. Then I've got some oneshots to do, and then I'm thinking of taking a break from fanfiction for awhile to work on some personal stuff.**

**Oh, and I won't say no to some reviews ;)**


	9. Chapter 9

**I'm sorry it took me so long to get this up, but university can make a person pretty busy!**

**This will be the last chapter of this fic. I've decided to take a break from multi-chapter fics because I'm too busy to update quickly, and it is unfair to you (my readers). But, I will continue to write some one-shots here and there, when I get the chance. (I'm considering doing a collection of one-shots based on some of my OCs, and the issue of Dark Ace and Cyclonis as half-brother and sister).**

**PLEASE NOTE: This chapter may be confusing at times. I wrote this in the point of view of 3rd person limited (which means the story is in third person, but it's like 1st person, in that you only know the thoughts and feelings of one character). The page breaks show when I switch the limited point of view from the Dark Ace to Sophia. HOWEVER: the last page break shows a change in time and plance! Sorry if this confuses some of you!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Storm Hawks or any plots/ characters/ or ideas assosiated with the show. I also do not own the song "The Call" by Regina Spektor, which is quoted below.**

* * *

Chapter 9

"_I'll come back when you call me,_

_No need to say goodbye."_

He couldn't believe it. This was impossible. He'd seen her mangled body, lying lifeless on the floor. He'd stared into her empty, glazed eyes. He'd cried into her bloody, unmoving chest. He'd kissed her cold lips.

Yet, there she was. _**His**_ Crystal, glaring at him with puffy eyes, her hair a mess and trails of tears down her face.

Dark Ace's first reaction was to take a step back in shock. How could this be possible? She was dead! _**Dead!**_ But she was there, and looked very much alive. Dark Ace's head began to spin from his inability to comprehend what he was seeing.

Cyclonis. It had to be her. She'd conjured this illusion just to play another of her vile mind games with him. She was always doing these things to him, just to serve her own twisted sense of humour.

Or, was it an illusion? Maybe his half-sister and father had merely lied to him about Crystal's death. Maybe that body hadn't been hers. He _**had **_been it a pretty bad state. Could his own father make him think that his love was dead, just so he would follow his orders? Of course he would! That devil of a man had known Crystal was the one thing that was holding him back from becoming a full-fledged talon...

* * *

"Crystal?" Dark Ace whispered, his voice cracking with emotion, as he took a step towards Emily.

All the anger Emily had felt moments before left her as she looked at the man approaching her. The Dark Ace seemed to be a totally different person. His tense stance and demeaning expression were gone. His sword hung forgotten by his side, and he held a hand out towards her, as if he wanted to grab her before she could run away. His red eyes showed great confusion, but also great love.

This sudden change scared Emily more than anything she could have imagined. She wanted to jump up and escape, but something held her in place.

"Emily!" she heard Aerrow call worriedly, along with the sound of his blades activating.

"No, wait." Emily said softly, raising a hand to stop Aerrow from coming any closer.

Slowly, Emily stood and began to make her way towards the Dark Ace. He seemed so familiar to her. She'd seen him before, in one of her dreams. This was the sweet young man who had played with her when no one else would. This was the young man who was Jacob's best friend. This was the young man with whom her sister Crystal had fallen so deeply in love.

"Ace?" Emily questioned, keeping her voice low.

They were face to face now, the talon and the young woman. For a few moments, they only stared at each other, both trying to understand what was happening.

* * *

Dark Ace raised his hand, and gently cupped the young woman's cheek. Her eyes widened in shock for a fleeting moment, but it soon passed. He smiled, gently stroking her soft skin with his thumb.

"Crystal. I can't believe it." Dark Ace whispered.

He let his eyes sweep over the young woman standing before him. He remembered every feature; he'd seen them in his dreams so often. Her pale skin, her thin lips, her dainty nose, her raven black hair, her sky blue eyes...

The Dark Ace's hand fell as he took a step back. Her eyes! They weren't Crystal's eyes! Was this all just one of Cycolins' games after all? Why was so cruel to him? Why must she torture him like this?

Dark Ace looked up at his dear Crystal, but she was no longer there. Only a young woman stood before him. Just a stupid girl who shared Crystal's features. But she wasn't Crystal. No one would ever be Crystal. No one would ever replace his Crystal!

* * *

"You tricked me!" the Dark Ace yelled, taking an angry step towards Emily, "Why must you taunt me like this?!?"

Emily took a step back. Ace had disappeared, replaced by a crazed Dark Ace.

"What do you mean?" Emily asked.

"You thought you had me fooled!" the deranged man laughed, "But I know you're not my Crystal."

Crystal? He'd thought she was her older sister? Emily's heart went out to the man. She felt horrible. She'd unknowingly led him to believe she was his dead love.

"No Ace, I'm not Crystal. I'm Sophia." Emily tried to explain to the demented man quickly approaching her, but she could feel the weight of fear holding her down.

* * *

Sophia? Dark Ace stopped, looking at the fear stricken young woman before him.

That look of fear on her face, he'd seen that before. He'd seen it the day he came to kill little Sophia.

The image of the young woman dissolved and a three-year-old Sophia took her place. She looked at him with such fear, just like on that day. Why hadn't she fought back? She was just like Charles. That little boy, who's knowing face still haunted his dreams. Like Crystal. Oh, Crystal. Why didn't she fight back? If she'd only just screamed, he would have saved her. He wouldn't have lost her. He wouldn't be standing here like this.

* * *

"Why didn't you fight back?" Dark Ace asked sadly.

"What do you mean?" Emily asked again, "I don't understand."

"Why didn't you fight back!?!" he continued, not seemingly hearing the young woman's pleas, "You could have saved both of us, if you'd only fought back! But you didn't! Why? WHY?"

"Please," Emily was now truly scared, "Please, I don't want to fight."

Dark Ace's saddened eyes suddenly changed once more, now becoming full of rage.

"Fight me!" Emily jumped back at the Dark Ace's crazed yell.

He swung his deactivated sword haphazardly, as if drunk. Emily dove to avoid being hit.

"Fight back!" the Dark Ace seemed to become angrier with every passing moment.

Lifting his sword over his head, the Dark Ace activated it, so it gave off a devilish red light. Emily screamed, covering her head with her hands, as he brought the glowing weapon swooping downwards towards her.

The buzz of two crystal-energized weapons colliding filled the air. Emily looked up to see Aerrow standing between her and the Dark Ace, blocking the attack with his own glowing blades.

"If you want a fight," Aerrow spat, face stiff with determination, "I'll give you a fight!"

Putting extra force into his block, Aerrow pushed the Dark Ace back, causing the talon to lose his balance and stumble backwards. Jumping towards the older man, Aerrow brought his blades downwards, but the Dark Ace was quick to bring up his sword to meet Aerrow's. And so the pair began their usual battle of equals. Neither could land a blow as they spared off, jumping, turning, twisting and ducking to avoid the others attacks.

Emily rushed to get on her feet and join the other Storm Hawks a little ways away, where they watched the ongoing battle.

"You ok?" Junko asked, taking his eyes of the battle momentarily to glace worriedly at Emily.

"Yeah." Emily nodded, but still felt a bit numb from the whole ordeal.

"What happened exactly?" Piper questioned.

"Other then the Dark Ace totally going off his head?!" was Finn's response.

"Definitely mindworms...." Stork mumbled.

"I think he mistook me for my sister, Crystal." Emily said, still trying to understand everything herself, "He was in love with her."

"The Dark Ace _**loved**_ someone?" Finn asked, bewildered, turning from the fight to look at the young woman.

"Yes, he did." Emily said, averting her eyes, "But it was long ago, before he was known as the Dark Ace."

Radarr's worried screech brought everyone's attention back to the ongoing battle.

Aerrow had tripped over some debris from the destroyed buildings. He lay on the ground, Dark Ace standing over him, sword pointing at Aerrow's chest.

"Aerrow!" Piper screamed.

Finn quickly brought his crossbow to his face and lined up for a shot, but he was too late. As Finn let his arrow fly, the Dark Ace shot a bolt of energy straight at Aerrow.

The force of the blast threw Aerrow into one of the burning buildings, his body skidding and rolling along the ground.

The Dark Ace didn't escape the attack meant for him either. Finn's arrow dug deep into his shoulder, and the talon screamed in agony.

However, the Storm Hawks were not worried about the Dark Ace, their only worry was Aerrow. They ran towards the blazing building, thoughts of their own safety not once crossing their minds. They're only thought was to save their Sky Knight.

Junko got to the building first, and ran into the hole made by Aerrow as he crashed through the wall. He found Aerrow pretty quickly, inside the collapsing front room of what appeared to be a shop. Junko picked up the Sky Knight and hurried outside, to his waiting squadron.

As Junko lay Aerrow down, Piper knelt to examine the unconscious Sky Knight's injuries. Bruises had begun to form all over his body from his skid across the ground, and as well as reddening burns from the fire. His left leg was sticking out at an odd angle, and was most likely broken. But Aerrow's worst wound was on his chest. The blast had burned through his uniform, revealing the blackened skin below.

"Aerrow?" Piper whispered softly.

Radarr came up beside the crystals specialist. He chirped timidly and gently shock Aerrow's shoulder. Their friend gave no response.

"Aerrow? Come on, wake up." Piper pleaded, shaking Aerrow's shoulder as well.

With every passing second, the Storm Hawks began to loose hope. Emily's eyes welled up with tears. A teary-eyed Junko wrapped a comforting arm around the young woman's shoulder, and she began to cry into his chest. Finn's crossbow lay forgotten at his side. The usually good natured sharpshooter now stood emotionless, shoulders sagged and the numbness of shock taking over. For once, Stork mumbled no predictions of doom, his eyes sparkling with unshed tears. Radarr let go of Aerrow's shoulder. The little blue creature's eyes grew big and sorrowful. Reaching down, he held Aerrow's hand, hugging it against his fuzzy face.

"Aerrow!" Piper screamed through gulping sobs.

She continued to shake his lifeless body, but Aerrow wouldn't respond.

"No!" Piper yelled, throwing herself on top of Aerrow's chest, and hitting it with her clenched fist.

* * *

The Dark Ace stumbled out into the road, holding his injured arm. As he gasped for the air denied to him inside the smoking building, the Dark Ace scanned his surroundings to inspect his handiwork.

The crumbling buildings continued to burn. The bright flames lit the now darkening sky, throwing contorted shadows over the ruined area. From where he stood, a group of mourning figures appeared as only silhouettes; dark figures against the glowing fires.

The Dark Ace smiled at the sight of the grieving Strom Hawks. He had done what Cyclonis thought he could not; he'd killed one of the remaining royal children. Dark Ace felt great satisfaction in his latest murder. The kid had fought back, had broken the barrier that had always been in the Dark Ace's mind. Dark Ace knew that he would no longer have any sleepless nights on the account of the royal children. The foolish young Sky Knight had unknowingly helped him move past this one obstacle that had - for so long - obstructed the Dark Ace's path to his full potential.

Now, all he had to do was send one last shot at the unsuspecting girl, who was clinging to the wallop.

But the Dark Ace found himself - once again - unable to perform this task. Now that his mind was no longer tainted, his body was failing him. Finn's arrow was doing more damage then the Dark Ace had first thought. He could no longer move his injured arm, and he felt the drowsiness of fatigue slowly coming over him.

The Dark Ace wanted to scream in frustration, but he withheld this urge for the sake of his own dignity. With a few deep breaths, his angry sneer turned into a menacing grin.

He would let the girl suffer for now. Let her see her brother's pain, and the damage she'd brought to his squadron. He could go back to Cyclonia in smug victory, having done more then his _**dear**_ half-sister had predicted possible. He would come back for little Sophia in due time. And when he did, he'd be prepared for all of her little tricks. Never again would she pull the wool over his eyes.

With these last thoughts, the Dark Ace turned and strode towards the dark trees of the forest that stood near the edge of the town.

* * *

"Ow." came the shallow sound of a raspy voice, "Piper, could you stop punching me?"

Lifting her head, Piper turned her puffy eyes to meet Aerrow's, whose were only half open from exhaustion.

"Aerrow!" Piper exclaimed, launching herself at the Sky Knight.

"Why are you yelling Piper?" Aerrow asked, his head throbbing in pain, "I'm right next to you—"

Aerrow was cut off as Piper smashed her lips into his. It took a second for the groggy Sky Knight to comprehend what was happening, but once he did, he responded with just as much passion as Piper. The pair were overwhelmed with the amount of emotions that passed between them through their kiss. Happiness, relief, sadness, hurt, worry... but most prominently, love.

"Wha!?" Finn was overtaken by a new form of shock, his mouth hanging open.

Junko and Radarr covered their eyes, both blushing with embarrassment. Stork stared at the pair, as if scrutinizing what illness they must have caught.

"I told you!" Emily laughed, whipping tears from her eyes.

At Emily's comment, Aerrow and Piper broke apart, only just remembering they were not alone.

Radarr spared no time in tackling Aerrow in a hug. Though Aerrow hissed in pain and Piper told him to let go, the co-pilot wouldn't detatch himself from the Sky Knight's neck.

" You two have got a _**lot**_ of explaining to do!" were the first words to come out of Finn's mouth.

* * *

Emily bent down to place a bouquet of flowers next to the two wooden crosses that marked Josh and Judy's final resting places. The crosses stood on a hill above the town, under a tall tree.

It was a bright day and the sky was clear. A gentle breeze blew, playing with Emily's hair and black skirt. The leaves of the tree ruffled in the wind, the sound was comforting to the young woman. Her guardians would like it here.

Emily glanced over to the other side of the tree. There stood three older crosses, were she had lain flowers as well. They belonged to her original adopted family. Emily couldn't stop a single tear from making its way down her face as she thought of the poor little girl who had taken her place those many years ago.

However, she would not let herself dwell on these sad thoughts. It would not have been what Josh and Judy wanted. They'd have wanted her to continue to live her life. They'd have wanted her to go meet her true parents, and see where life took her from there. And that was what she was intended to do, not just for them, but for herself.

"Emily!" she turned at the sound of her name.

Looking to the bottom of the hill, she could see Aerrow - leg in a cast, with one arm holding a crutch, and other around Piper's shoulder. Aerrow had insisted on coming out with her to say her final goodbyes, even though she had been against it, with his injuries still healing. However, neither Emily or Piper had thought it wise for Aerrow to attempt climbing the embankment to where Emily now stood.

Emily waved to her companions and began to make her way down towards them.

"Sorry to pull you away," Aerrow apologized when Emily reached the pair, "but Stork just radioed that we have to get going."

"It's ok, I was finished anyway." Emily smiled.

"So are you ready to meet your parents Emily?" Piper asked as the three made their was towards their awaiting skimmers.

"Yes, I think I am." Emily answered, "And it's Sophia now."

"Why?" Aerrow asked, confused.

"Emily belongs with the people up on that hill," Sophia explained, stopping for one final glance back, "And she will stay there with them."

"_I'll come back when you call me,_

_No need to say goodbye."_

* * *

**Well, this is the end of this fic - for now. Who knows, I may continue on with this series when I get the time.**

**I hope you weren't too confused with the switching back and forth. If the Dark Ace's thoughts seem a bit crazed or odd, well I did my job ;) He was supposed to be confused and a bit off this rocker.... I wanted you to feel a bit bad for him, and then show that he no longer has any hope of returning to the way he was (now that he is curtin that Crystal is dead, and that he is over the fact that the kids didn't fight back and all...) Why did I do this? Because I love seeing if I can play with your minds and make you question stuff! I find it oddly enjoyable ;) **

**I must admit, I've really left you guys with a few questions relating to this fic. I'm sure your all wondering about Crystal/Dark Ace, as well and the whole half-brother and sister thing between Dark Ace and Cyclonis. As I mentioned earlier, I'm considering writing a group of one-shots to answer some of these questions, and go deeper into the different characters I've created. We'll just have to wait and see!**

**Thank you for reading, and please feel free to leave your thoughts and suggestions in a review (because reviews motivate me to write more!)**

**And feel free to vote in my poll! (It's on which of Aerrow's siblings you like best). It may help me decide what I should write about.**


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